Director of Water Services;
D.C. Water and Sewer Authority

Background

On October 1, 1996, the governments of the District of Columbia and United States in collaboration created the District of Columbia Water and Sewer Authority (DCWASA), a semi-autonomous, multi-jurisdictional, regional entity. The Authority provides drinking water, wastewater collection, and treatment to more than half a million residential, commercial, and governmental customers in the District of Columbia, and also collects and treats wastewater for 1.6 million customers in Montgomery and Prince George's counties in Maryland and Fairfax and Loudoun counties in Virginia. DCWASA employs approximately 1,200 people who work at various facilities throughout a service area of approximately 725 square miles. The Authority delivers water to over 130,000 locations in Washington, D.C. and provides nearly 135 million gallons of drinking water a day for use by individuals and businesses. To distribute water and support the distribution system, DCWASA operates approximately 1,300 miles of pipes, five pumping stations, five reservoirs, four elevated water storage tanks, 36,000 valves, and 8,700 hydrants. The fees collected from DCWASA's two million customers generate the revenue to pay for its operating costs.

The Authority is governed by a board of directors, a General Manager, and a staff of professionals and technicians. The day-to-day operations of DCWASA are controlled by the General Manager, who reports to an eleven-member Board of Directors. The Board has six members representing the District of Columbia and five members representing the adjoining jurisdictions of Prince George's County and Montgomery County in Maryland and Fairfax County in Virginia. All Board members participate in decisions directly affecting the management of DCWASA's joint-use facilities. The General Manager has three principal divisional leaders: (1) a Chief Financial Officer/Deputy General Manager who supervises finances, budgets, IT, water measurement and billing, and risk management; (2) an Assistant General Manager who oversees human resources, procurement, fleet management, facilities and securities, and occupational health and safety; and (3) a Chief Engineer, who also acts as Deputy General Manager, responsible for the overall management of activities and programs in the departments of engineering and technical services, wastewater treatment, sewer services, maintenance services, and water services.

DCWASA provides retail water and wastewater services to its residential and commercial customers in the District, with rates set by the Authority's D.C. Board. The Authority buys its drinking water from the Washington Aqueduct, a division of the Army Corps of Engineers. The Aqueduct treats the water and DCWASA distributes it throughout the District.

Current Situation

 The Chief Engineer oversees five main departments for the Authority: Engineering and Technical Services, Wastewater Treatment, Sewer Services, Maintenance Services, and Water Services. The Department of Water Services (DWS) is presently organized into five divisional units, each headed by a manager: (1) Water Pumping, (2) Water Distribution and Maintenance, (3) Issue Investigation and Operations (4) Water Quality, and (5) Technical Support. Among these five units, there are approximately 158 positions in the DWS with 134 positions currently filled by workers with great ranges of technical experience and expertise. The Office of the Director currently has four positions, including an administrative service coordinator who manages the daily business activities of entire department.
(1) Water Pumping. The water storage and pumping responsibilities are shared by DCWASA and the Washington Aqueduct. DCWASA operates four treated water pumping stations (the Anacostia Pump Station, Bryant Street Pump Station, Fort Reno Pump Station, and Sixteenth and Alaska Pump Station) which are transported from eight reservoirs and elevated tanks. The Washington Aqueduct operates the Dalecarlia Pump Station and has three reservoirs. There are 13 positions in the division of Water Pumping.
(2) Water Distribution and Maintenance. The distribution system provides water to seven service areas based on the ground elevation around the District. The system operated and maintained by the Authority includes over a thousand miles of pipes and mains ranging in size from 4 to 78 inches in diameter. Most of the pipes are constructed from cast iron, while a small fraction of the pipes are fabricated from ductile iron, steel, and concrete. The system includes a massive number of valves and hydrants. Many of the District's pipes, valves, and hydrants were laid many decades ago, and now require many man-hours of regular maintenance and repair. The division of Distribution and Maintenance is responsible for the cleaning, maintenance, and general repair of the Authority's distribution system. This unit is the largest division in Water Services with 106 positions, and, at the moment, shares a significant number of its workforce with Issue Investigation and Operations.
(3) Issue Investigation and Operations. This unit is a newly created division within the Authority and will acquire about 40 positions from Water Distribution and Maintenance when approved by the General Manager. A new manager whose appointment is pending will head this unit. This group will conduct full-scale investigations of all complaints and issues raised to DCWASA about water service.
(4) Water Quality. The Washington Aqueduct Division operates and maintains the raw water supply facilities and treatment plants that supply water to the distribution systems of DCWASA, parts of northern Virginia, and a portion to federal properties. The Authority is responsible for the quality of the water when it is distributed within and outside the District area. The team in the Water Quality department ensures that DCWASA's customers receive the highest quality of drinking water as mandated by the Clean Water Act, the cornerstone of water quality protection in the United States, and maintains regular testing and examinations filed with the Environmental Protection Agency. This division has 29 positions.
(5) Technical Support. This division of Water Services aids the other four divisions through managing assets, administering contracts, and providing engineering reviews for water projects. Technical Support Services inspect all contract work under their administration and oversee all new connections and abandonments to the water distribution system. They bear responsibility for maintaining a computerized hydraulic water model for the overall water system, noting possible changes when particular valves are opened or closed within the network. Technical Support Services is the smallest division, with six positions

 Specific Role

 The Director of Waters Services serves directly under the Chief Engineer for the Authority and is responsible for administering the pumping and distribution of quality drinking water to the District of Columbia. The Director oversees the preparation of strategic and annually updated plans for the DWS and reviews and exercises responsibility for the overall operations and finances of this department. The official is responsible for developing and controlling an operations and maintenance budget of approximately $20 million and coordinates the generation of the capital budget with the Department of Engineering and Technical Services.

The Director plays a prominent role in the Authority's ongoing Capital Improvement Program, by aiding in efforts to prioritize and refine the capital program to ensure DCWASA's place as a world-class organization. This official is expected to assist DCWASA's focus on incorporating advances in technologies by updating or replacing existing elements in the present water system, while ensuring that critical systems during emergent responses continue to operate at acceptable capacities.

In addition, through effective operational leadership, the Director emphasizes work quality, productivity, and customer service. Superior customer service is defined as delivering around-the-clock response to water main breaks followed by timely repair. The Director is encouraged by the Authority to develop programs and services to enhance customer satisfaction, including the use of latest technology to improve operational and customer service. This official maintains effective communications and productive cooperation with the community, other agencies, and other DCWASA departments, in order to maintain a high level of work quality.

The management responsibility includes the development of specific annual performance objectives (developed jointly with each divisional manager) for quality, timeliness, and customer satisfaction with service, by evaluating performance objectives of the entire department and implementing appropriate measures when disciplinary action is warranted. The Director emphasizes and enforces DCWASA's safety policies and procedures so as to ensure employee and public safety. These safety procedures include the maintenance of fire hydrants in service with minimal backlog of work orders. The Chief Engineer at his discretion may assign other duties and projects to the Director that he deems as necessary to improve the performance and service of the DWS.

   Major Objectives