9 April, London - The Leading Utilities of the World (LUOW) network inaugurated five new members during Global Water Summit (GWS) 2019. With the newest inauguration event, the LUOW network now includes 41 members in total, all of which represent the gold standard of utility innovation and performance.

The inauguration took place on Day 1 of the GWS, and the five new utilities accepted for LUOW membership were:

•    Berliner Wasserbetriebe, Germany (represented by Jörg Simon, CEO)

•    DEWA, UAE (represented by H.E. Abdullah Obaidullah, EVP Water and Civil)

•    Águas de Portugal, Portugal (represented by Alexandra Serra, CEO, Águas de Portugal  International)

•    SIAAP, France (represented by Jean-Didier Berthault, Vice President)

•    Yarra Valley Water, Australia (represented by Pat McCafferty, Managing Director)

The five new member utilities were approved and accepted into the network by the LUOW Advisory Board.

In order to join LUOW network, representatives from each of the utilities are required to present their three most outstanding innovation successes, out of 14 potential innovation areas of the network. Of five that were inducted into LUOW at this event, four utilities had innovations in IT & Smart Water category, which demonstrates continuous effort of water and wastewater utilities to use the latest digital and technological advancements to help improve their business performance. Successful campaigns in this category include DEWA’s AMI project which helped them save 1.4 billion gallons of water in 40 months (and increase revenue by US$13.7 million); Berliner Wasserbetriebe’s web application that provides information on water quality for all 39 bathing areas in Berlin; SIAAP’s real time control and monitoring system, and Águas de Portugal’s smart water resource recovery facilities.

These examples add to the variety of utility innovations already exhibited by the network’s membership, which include initiatives ranging from responses to drought, floods and water quality, to stellar financial management, business development, and productivity measures.

Pat McCafferty, Managing Director of Yarra Valley Water, explained why his utility wanted to join LUOW: “We are strong believers in collaboration, learning from others and providing industry leadership. The challenges faced in the water sector globally such as climate change and population growth call for a new way of doing business and recognising that any single water utility does not have all the answers.” Additionally, he outlined how being part of the network can help Yarra Valley Water improve further: “When I presented our long term goals at the conference I covered 6 areas – becoming an environmentally restorative water utility, building resilience to sustain Melbourne’s liveability, delivering ongoing bill reductions to our customers, navigating the transition to becoming fully digital, extending our role to provide greater community value, and sustaining our high performing organisational culture – I expect to gain insights across all these areas in being part of the network.”

This year’s LUOW inauguration event included another important component: LUOW success story. Two LUOW members, Marty Adams (COO, LADWP, USA) and Raveen Jaduram (Chief Executive, Watercare Services Limited, New Zealand) shared their LUOW experience, and the benefits they gained from being part of the network. The main takeaway was that the network gave them the opportunity to connect with their peer utilities across the globe, to both inspire others and be inspired by others.

In addition to several other international events throughout the year, the LUOW network will come together at the American Water Summit in Houston TX on 12-14 November 2019. The Summit will feature the next inauguration ceremony, where five utilities will present their successes in the network’s innovation areas and be accepted for LUOW membership.

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. For enquiries regarding the Global Water Leaders Group, contact the Secretary General, Samantha Yates at sy@globalwaterleaders.org.

Find out more about the Global Water Summit here: http://www.watermeetsmoney.com/. There is more information about the American Water Summit here :www.americanwatersummit.com/.

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