Xylem recently recognized utilities and distributors who are going above and beyond in the areas of customer service and community impact at its 2022 Reach Conference.
Water utilities that quickly alert customers to a potential household leak or step in to help homeowners avoid disastrous repair bills are being recognized for setting new standards in customer service. Utility systems from Texas and Michigan were among those recognized at Xylem’s Reach Conference, Oct. 9-12 in Washington, D.C.
“Our Reach award recipients deserve recognition for transforming their water utility operations, enhancing customer service and reaching supporting community members in need,” said Matthew Pine, Senior Vice President and President, Xylem Americas, Applied Water Systems and Measurement & Control Solutions. “These local heroes leverage the power of digital solutions to address pressing water challenges, such as accessibility and affordability, and do so with efficiency, scalability and speed.”
Reach Transformation Award
The Reach Transformation Award honors those who reach farther through the application of Xylem technology to make operational advancements, improve customer service and optimize data.
The City of Fort Worth, Texas, is the 13th largest U.S. city and among the nation’s fastest-growing cities. Fort Worth Water began its transformative journey to digitize systems in 2012. With the help of distributor Aqua-Metric, the utility exchanged more than 270,000 residential water meters, implemented the Sensus FlexNet communication network and is annually adding thousands of new meters to meet its growing population. The utility is seeing substantial annual cost savings while improving the customer experience and reducing water loss.
“The MyH20 project is truly a game changer,” said Fort Worth’s Deputy Water Director Kara Shuror. “With our customer portal, residents now have access to detailed usage data, and they have the ability to monitor and manage their own water use.”
Shuror and Aqua-Metric Project Manager Paul Morrison (right) accepted the award on behalf of their teams.
Reach Resiliency Award
The Reach Resiliency Award recognizes those who go above and beyond to make their community a better place to live, work and play through modernization and rapid response in the midst of emergencies.
The Village of Mattawan in Michigan is home to 2,500 residents. The small, but mighty, public works team consists of four people and a superintendent who are always on the lookout for new ways to improve efficiency. Along with distributor ETNA Supply Company, they deployed iPERL residential water meters and the two-way FlexNet system for remote meter management, allowing crews to get a week’s worth of work done in a matter of hours.
The change in technology also led to a reduction of water loss and overall costs, saving the utility approximately $75,000 each year. “That’s money we are not flushing down the drain,” said Public Works Superintendent Tom Anthony. “The savings allowed us to purchase a bulk water station to fill residential swimming pools.”
Anthony and ETNA Account Manager Kevin Dieleman (right) accepted the award to share with their teams.
The Xylem Reach conference brings industry leaders together to discuss smart sustainable solutions for water, gas and electric utilities. The conference took place recently with more than 100 educational and networking sessions. View the award videos for the transformation winner and the resiliency recipient.
