Water Resources Annual Report 2022-2023

How Water Resources is Working Toward Its Strategic Goals

We’re Deploying New Technology Water Resources is in the midst of a multi-year innovation program to replace water meters with new technology that will allow for remote, 24-hour access to water use data and provide customers timely alerts of water leaks. Called GSO WaterWise, this program includes a series of customer service and infrastructure enhancements. New water meter rollout began in 2021, but was slowed by pandemic-related supply chain delays. As of August 2023, 46,000 new smart point meters have been installed. In the first half of 2024, users will get access to a new online portal to view water usage information and receive timely notifications from Water Resources.

Operational Efficiency

LEARN MORE: » www.greensboro-nc.gov/GSOWaterWise

We’re Creatively Responding to Staffing Shortages This year, Water Resources was among the City departments who partnered for a hire-on-the-spot job fair to streamline the employee recruitment and selection process. The goal was to try a new way to hire for hard-to-fill, high turnover jobs, which are critical to the operations of the department. Water Resources used the opportunity to recruit for crew members, entry-level positions that can be attained by candidates without advanced education and no construction-related experience. On-the-job training is provided by the department. Forty-four qualified candidates received a job offer at the fair. Of those who followed up by completing other mandatory screenings, such as a background check, 36 completed the hiring process. After six months, 22 were still part of the Water Resources team.

Employee Training and Organizational Development

We Plan Ahead for Improvements and Rate Changes Water Resources has a strategic plan to provide high-quality, reliable water and wastewater services by using data-driven decision making to improve infrastructure and resource resiliency. As a part of this initiative, staff use and refine a 10-year Capital Improvement Program to plan for long term infrastructure improvement projects. These undertakings are designed to reduce water main breaks, sanitary sewer overflows, and address other issues that impact the effectiveness of our water and wastewater systems, save water and protect the environment. These projects are necessary to address regulatory compliance, support economic development, and maintain reliability of infrastructure, such as water pipes, tanks, dams, and sewer lines, as well as water and wastewater treatment facilities. Future rate increases are primarily driven by the costs associated with following this plan.

Infrastructure and Resource Resiliency