11th February – The Leading Utilities of the World (LUOW) network inaugurated five new members at the first ever online inauguration event. With the newest inauguration event the LUOW network now includes 54 members in total, all of which represent the gold standard of utility innovation and performance.

The inauguration took place online, due to worldwide travel restrictions inhibiting in-person events. The five new utilities accepted for LUOW membership were:

• Moulton Niguel Water District, USA (represented by Joone Lopez, General Manager)
  

• Sydney Water, Australia (represented by Roch Cheroux, Managing Director)
  

• Seqwater, Australia (represented by Neil Brennan, CEO)
  

• Canal de Isabel II, Spain (represented by Pascual Fernández, CEO)
  

• Drainage Services Department (DSD), HKSARG (represented by Alice Pang, Director)
  

The five new member utilities were approved and accepted into the network by the LUOW Advisory Board, which also included additional honorary Advisory Boards members from among the current network.

In order to join the LUOW network representatives from each of the utilities are required to present their three most outstanding innovation successes out of the 14 potential innovation areas of the network. There was a great variety of innovations showcased at the event, and it is perhaps unsurprising that the COVID-19 pandemic featured heavily within most presentations. Innovations in Stakeholder Engagement came from Moulton Niguel Water District, who increased customer engagement and satisfaction by 95% during the pandemic, through online customer service tools and educational programs. Seqwater also shared their experience in this innovation area, as they have also provided educational programs to help customers better understand the pressures that water utilities face, such as climate change and water scarcity, and have thereby increased customer’s trust in Seqwater’s ability to supply safe drinking water in challenging times.

Customer engagement featured heavily in Sydney Water’s presentation when focusing on their response to drought and water scarcity. Through mass awareness campaigns, Sydney Water increased customer awareness of drought and compelled customers to consider their own water usage, with total water savings of 12%. Canal de Isabel II also recognized the challenge of water scarcity whilst supplying water for a growing population. Through a multi-faceted approach, including communication strategies, a smart pipe replacement initiative and reclaimed water, Canal de Isabel II has dramatically decreased demand per capita even though their population has grown by 13.7% since 2005.

The Drainage Services Department (DSD) of Hong Kong has also faced the challenge of a growing population, creating the joint challenge of increased sewerage and continued need for usable land. Through a deep sewage tunnel system, DSD has improved the quality of water in the Victoria Harbour and has seen the return of community activities such as swimming and rowing tournaments. Furthermore, by relocating their sewage treatment works to a cavern, DSD have managed to release land for better uses whilst also concealing their facility from the general public.

These examples add to the variety of utility innovations already exhibited by the network’s membership, and the five new members will join current members in their goal share ‘best practices and innovative spirit, a vision for a better water future and a desire to positively impact our world’, as expressed by Howard Neukrug, Senior Advisor to LUOW, in his opening speech.

The LUOW network will continue holding online networking events with the support of its foundation partner Jacobs.

Find out more about the Leading Utilities of the World Network and its activities: www.leadingutilities.org.

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Notes to Editors:

Leading Utilities of the World (LUOW) is a network of the world's most forward-thinking water and wastewater utilities, as defined by the network’s 14 distinct innovation areas. Its members represent the Gold Standard of utility innovation and performance throughout the developed world’s water sector.

LUOW is an initiative of the Global Water Leaders Group, a CEO-level non-profit organisation of aiming to create a better story for water worldwide. To find out more about the Global Water Leaders Group, visit www.globalwaterleaders.org.

For enquiries regarding corporate membership in the LUOW network, contact our team here.

Press contact: Ana Budimir (abudimir@globalwaterintel.com), Water Leaders Ltd, Suite C, Kingsmead House, Oxpens Road, Oxford OX1 1XX, UK. Tel: +44 1865 204 208