Building Sustainability into Water Sector Utility Long-Range Planning
Ross & Associates has supported EPA’s Offices of Wastewater Management and Groundwater and Drinking Water to develop a handbook to assist water sector utilities incorporate sustainability considerations into long-range utility planning. The handbook supports EPA’s efforts to promote the sustainability of water sector utilities and the communities they serve, and is intended to help utilities pursue sustainability outcomes
Effective Utility Management for Water and Wastewater Utilities
Ross & Associates has supported the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Water, in collaboration with six national water sector associations, to define and promote the “Ten Attributes of Effectively Managed Water Sector Utilities.” EPA and the associations’ efforts began with defining a water sector strategy to promote greater adoption of effective management systems and other best practices by water and wastewater utilities.
Climate Ready Water Utilities Working Group
Ross & Associates worked with EPA’s Office of Water to develop a program that will enable water and wastewater utilities to develop and implement long-range plans that account for climate change impacts. Specifically, Ross & Associates was responsible for convening a 21 member Working Group composed of a broad range of water sector stakeholders representing water utilities; state, local, and tribal governments; and academic and environmental organizations. Additionally, Federal Partners, from EPA, USACE, NOAA and other federal agencies participated in Working Group meetings and served as technical experts.
Louisville Wet Weather Team
Ross & Associates provided comprehensive process support for a stakeholder “Wet Weather Team” advising the Louisville and Jefferson County Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) on the development of long-term plan to control combined sewer overflows (CSOs) and sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs) for the Louisville community. Working closely with a technical consultant team, we used an innovative, values-based risk management planning process to obtain input from Wet Weather Team stakeholders.
Great Lakes Restoration Initiatives
Ross & Associates provides strategic facilitation, process management, and analytic support to major collaborative initiatives to protect and restore the Great Lakes. Beginning in 2005, Ross supported the U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office (GLNPO), along with numerous government, NGO, and industry partners, to implement the Great Lakes Regional Collaboration and develop a comprehensive strategy for restoring the Great Lakes. Ross supported issue teams addressing topics including invasive species, protection and restoration of native fish and wildlife species and habitats, performance indicators, and information management.