WEF's Eileen O'Neill and Jim Horne of EPA blog about latest EUM Primer
In February, we were both were privileged to join nearly 960 water professionals at the 2017 AWWA/WEF Utility Management Conference in Tampa. This was the largest attendance in the history of this conference, and was a great place to hear about the many leadership innovations taking place in the world of water utility management.
The conference was also an opportunity to announce the release of the revised version of the Effective Utility Management (EUM) Primer and, more importantly, to reflect a bit on this incredible partnership known as EUM involving WEF, EPA, and nine other major national water sector organizations.
Developed by utilities for utilities, EUM has, since 2007, provided a common framework to assess organizational effectiveness, adopt best practices and metrics, and chart a course toward sustainable operations. Using the Ten Attributes of Effectively Managed Utilities and Five Keys to Management Success, EUM is now, we believe, the most widely used utility management system in the country. It is used to develop and implement strategic plans and a host of other improvements and can be the foundation of any utility’s path to sustainability, including those that aspire to become a Water Resources Utility of the Future.
Looking back as two individuals who were present at the “creation” of EUM, we are very pleased to say it has not only stood the test of the time, but has become even more relevant than ever before. That’s why a group of leaders from U.S. water utilities of varied sizes came together over the last year to create a revised, easy-to-use EUM Primer. The 2017 Primer provides an overview of the Ten Attributes and Five Keys to Management Success, and explains how utilities of all sizes can use EUM to achieve their mission and strategic goals.
Like most successful management programs, the beauty of EUM lies in its simplicity and clarity. It provides utilities with a practical, easy to implement common sense process for objectively assessing their strengths and areas of desired improvement - including how to chart and track their own course for improvement. Utilities set their own pace for improving under EUM—it’s their show.
WEF members who want to learn more should plan to participate in one of the upcoming webinars on EUM, the first of which is scheduled for May 9, 2017. A second webinar will be held in summer 2017. In addition, EPA and various WEF Member Associations expect to sponsor a series of EUM workshops later in 2017.
Moving forward, we both hope you will use the EUM Primer and other materials located at www.WaterEUM.org and join the already large number of utilities committed to being ever better 21st century stewards of clean and safe water!
Posted (4/6/2017)
Eileen O’Neill, Ph.D., BCES is a founding principal with Water Principles LLC , and a member of both the Board for Global Environmental Credentialing and the Water Tower Institute who writes and speaks on issues of water and innovation. She is a former Water Environment Federation executive director, has consulting and academic experience in the UK and USA, and is a member of the 2020 class of WEF Fellows.