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Energy & Utilities > Water & Wastewater Utilities Practice

Water & Wastewater Utilities Practice

Umbrex connects leading water & wastewater utilities to independent consultants with deep experience in the industry.

Over 90% of our Water & Wastewater Utilities Practice consultants are alums of McKinsey, Bain, or BCG.

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Client Segments Umbrex Serves

  • Municipal water & wastewater utilities: City- or county-owned utilities delivering drinking water and sewer services; modernizing infrastructure, PFAS/nutrient treatment, AMI/AMR metering, non‑revenue water, resilience, rate design, and digital work management.
  • Investor‑owned water & wastewater utilities (IOUs): Regulated investor‑owned water and sewer companies; optimizing capex planning, rate cases, M&A integration, PFAS compliance, customer experience, AMI analytics, and field productivity.
  • Regional wholesale providers & basin authorities: Regional wholesale providers and river-basin authorities managing sources, reservoirs, and treatment; advancing drought resilience, interconnections, environmental compliance, long‑range supply planning, and mega‑project delivery.
  • Contract operators & PPP concessionaires: Private O&M firms and concessionaires operating municipal water/wastewater assets; delivering compliance, cost efficiency, workforce development, digital twins, CMMS/SCADA upgrades, and performance‑based service improvements.
  • Special districts & rural water cooperatives: Special districts, rural water associations, and small systems; strengthening funding access, consolidation, regulatory compliance, asset management, leak detection, and emergency preparedness.

Selected Capabilities of our Water & Wastewater Utilities Practice

Strategy & Corporate Development

  • Utility Corporate Strategy And Long-Range Plan: Build 5–10 year One Water strategy aligning affordability, reliability, climate resilience, PFAS (per‑ and polyfluoroalkyl substances) pathways, and growth; set targets, funding strategies, and roadmap.
  • M&A, Regionalization, And System Consolidation Strategy: Evaluate acquisitions, regionalization, interlocal consolidation; quantify synergies, capital deferral, and service benefits; design governance, rate harmonization approach, and integration milestones.
  • Public-Private Partnership And Concession Strategy: Assess public-private partnerships (P3)—Design-Build-Finance-Operate-Maintain (DBFOM), lease, and operations and maintenance (O&M) concessions; value risk transfer; structure performance indicators and approval strategy.
  • Service Area Expansion And Wholesale Contract Strategy: Prioritize annexations, satellite acquisitions, and wholesale supply contracts; set developer contribution policies and interconnection standards; grow customers while protecting affordability and reliability.
  • Reuse And Resource Recovery Growth Strategy: Size reclaimed water, indirect and direct potable reuse, biosolids-to-energy, and biogas monetization; craft partnerships and commercial models; diversify revenue and lifecycle cost position.

Operations

  • Treatment Process Optimization And Advanced Control: Optimize water and wastewater plant operations—aeration, chemical dosing, sludge age, filtration backwash—using real-time control; reduce energy, chemicals, and violations while increasing capacity.
  • Pumping And Energy Cost Optimization: Optimize pump scheduling, VFD setpoints, reservoir levels, and demand response against tariffs; cut demand charges, kWh per MG, and greenhouse emissions.
  • Non-Revenue Water And Pressure Management: Stand up district metered areas (DMAs), nightline analysis, leak detection, pressure optimization, and meter accuracy programs; lower apparent and real losses, main breaks, and OPEX.
  • Collection System Real-Time Control And SSO Reduction: Implement sensing, basin optimization, throttle rules, and dynamic weir control; minimize wet-weather sanitary sewer overflows (SSO), backups, and treatment upsets without capex.
  • Field Operations And Maintenance Productivity: Redesign valve and hydrant maintenance, flushing, sewer camera inspections, and crew routing with mobile work; raise completion rates, first-time fix, and cut unit cost.

Supply Chain

  • Materials Demand Planning And S&OP For Water Utilities: Build integrated demand planning linking main rehab, lead service line replacement, meter programs, and plant turnarounds to MRP; improve fill rates, reduce expedites and inventory.
  • Chemicals Inventory And Delivery Resilience Management: Optimize chlorine, caustic, ferric, polymer, CO2 safety stocks, tank telemetry, and delivery scheduling; prevent runouts, reduce demurrage, and stabilize treatment costs during market disruptions.
  • Warehouse Network, Kitting, And Field Stores Optimization: Right-size warehouses and plant stores; kit leak repair, hydrant rebuilds, service sets, and lead service line kits; boost crew productivity and first-time fix.
  • Treatment Media And Membrane Lifecycle Logistics: Forecast and schedule PFAS media changeouts, RO and UF membrane rotations, resin regeneration, and disposal logistics; minimize downtime, compliance risk, and lifecycle cost.
  • Materials Traceability And QA Records Integration: Implement heat-number and lot traceability for PVF, meters, and lead service line kits linked to GIS and CMMS; deliver Buy America and funding compliance documentation.

Procurement & Strategic Sourcing

  • Chemicals Category Strategy And Hedging: Build category strategies for chlorine, caustic, ferric, polymer; dual-source, index pricing, rail and tanker logistics, and hedging; secure supply, stabilize cost, ensure treatment quality.
  • Treatment Equipment And Membranes Strategic Sourcing: Source pumps, blowers, UV, RO and UF membranes, media, and analyzers using lifecycle cost, spares packages, performance guarantees; cut capex, downtime, and maintenance spend.
  • Construction And Lead Service Line Replacement Alliances: Source main rehab and lead service line contractors via multi‑year alliances, unit‑price catalogs, incentives, and liquidated damages; secure capacity, improve productivity, reduce change orders.
  • Residuals, Biosolids, And PFAS Disposal Sourcing: Procure sludge hauling, biosolids processing, and PFAS-compliant disposal with contingency outlets and indexation; mitigate capacity crunches, control tipping fees, and reduce compliance risk.
  • Energy Commodity And Demand Response Procurement: Source electricity and gas using block-and-index, renewable credits, and demand response agreements; hedge volatility; lower power cost per million gallons pumped and treated.

Organization

  • Operating Model And Governance For One Water: Define end-to-end operating model across treatment, distribution, collection, asset management, labs, and customer ops; decision rights, forums, cadence; speed decisions and regulatory responsiveness.
  • Spans And Layers And Crew Territory Redesign: Redesign org structure, spans and layers, depots, crew territories, supervisor ratios, back-office alignment; lower management cost, handoffs, and cycle times; boost field productivity.
  • Workforce Planning, Apprenticeships, And Licensing Academy: Build multi-year workforce plan by craft; launch apprenticeships and operator licensing pathways; strengthen CDL, electrical and control systems skills; reduce vacancies and overtime.
  • Performance Management And Incentives System: Design tiered KPIs and incentives for water loss, sewer overflow reduction, compliance, energy intensity, backlog, safety; raise accountability, transparency, and outcomes enterprise-wide.
  • Labor Strategy And Union Partnership Model: Develop labor strategy, work-rule modernization, craft flexibility, and partnership councils; align incentives and productivity; reduce grievances, overtime, and service disruption risk.

Pricing

  • Retail Rate Design And Tariff Optimization: Design inclining block, seasonal, and drought surcharge tariffs with fixed‑variable split and affordability programs; improve revenue stability, conservation signals, and bill predictability.
  • Cost Of Service And Class Allocation Modeling: Build defensible cost of service studies, allocate by customer class, meter size, peaking and wastewater strength; support transparent rate setting and regulatory acceptance.
  • Wholesale, Reuse, And Interconnection Pricing: Set wholesale water, reclaimed water, and interconnection pricing with escalation, drought provisions, and cost‑sharing; strengthen contract economics and regional partnership viability.
  • System Development Charges And Impact Fees: Calibrate system development charges and capacity impact fees using marginal cost of capacity, growth projections, and credits; ensure growth pays for growth, preserving affordability.
  • Industrial Surcharges And Pretreatment Pricing: Design wastewater surcharges based on biochemical oxygen demand, total suspended solids, ammonia, and toxics; align with pretreatment costs; improve cost recovery and industrial compliance.

Finance

  • Long-Range Financial Plan And Affordability Modeling: Build 10‑year LRFP linking CIP, O&M, rates, debt; model affordability indices and credit metrics; optimize timing, bill impacts, and debt service coverage.
  • Capital Structure And Funding Strategy: Optimize SRF, WIFIA, revenue bonds, green bonds, and grants; sequence draws and amortization; lower WACC, stabilize rates, and preserve liquidity.
  • FP&A And Cost Analytics Modernization: Stand up driver‑based budgeting, unit cost per million gallons (MG) treated, automated forecasting, and variance analysis; improve budget accuracy, transparency, and financial decision speed.
  • Asset Accounting And Capitalization Policy Excellence: Standardize unitization, CWIP‑to‑plant close, overhead burdening, depreciation lives, and asset register controls; strengthen GASB compliance, audit readiness, and capital asset integrity.
  • Treasury, Liquidity, And Reserve Policy Optimization: Design cash forecasting, reserve policy, rate stabilization fund, and investment policy; optimize bank structures; improve liquidity, earnings on cash, and covenant compliance.

AI, Data & Analytics

  • Utility Data Lakehouse And Governance: Build a lakehouse integrating SCADA, LIMS, CMMS, GIS, AMI/MDM, and CIS; govern data products and APIs; enable analytics, regulatory reporting, and self‑service BI.
  • Non-Revenue Water Analytics And Leak Propensity Modeling: Combine DMA nightlines, pressure, acoustic, satellite, and repair history to score leak likelihood; target surveys and pressure zones; cut real loss and repair backlog.
  • Asset Failure Risk And Renewal Prioritization Analytics: Train break and collapse propensity models for mains and sewers using age, material, soil, traffic, pressure, CCTV; prioritize renewal; maximize risk reduction per dollar.
  • Predictive Maintenance And Asset Health Scoring: Analyze pump, blower, motor, and membrane telemetry and work history; predict failures and remaining life; prioritize interventions; reduce downtime, O&M cost, and spares.
  • Water Quality Anomaly Detection And Compliance Prediction: Fuse LIMS, online analyzers, and process data; detect anomalies and predict Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) exceedances; trigger proactive adjustments and sampling; avoid violations and notices.

Transformation

  • Enterprise Transformation Office And Value Realization: Stand up TMO, OKRs, cadence, benefits tracking; orchestrate OPEX, NRW, compliance, digital initiatives; deliver quantified savings, service improvements, and regulatory reporting transparency.
  • Zero-Based Operations Cost Reset: Run zero-based redesign of service levels, make-versus-buy, crew coverage, backlogs, and shift patterns; sustain OPEX reductions without compromising water quality or permit compliance.
  • Digital Utility Roadmap And Adoption: Create multi-year digital roadmap across SCADA, CMMS, GIS, AMI, LIMS; redesign workflows, roles, and training; drive adoption, data integrity, and measurable performance gains.
  • Capital Program Delivery Transformation: Re-engineer CIP governance, estimating, stage-gates, contractor incentives, and street coordination; improve bid accuracy, unit cost, and schedule adherence across main rehab and plant upgrades.
  • Lean Operating System Deployment: Install tiered daily management, visual metrics, gemba, and problem solving across plants, distribution, and collections; shrink cycle times, rework, energy intensity, and violation risk.

Innovation

  • PFAS Treatment Pilots And Technology Downselect: Run bench and pilot trials of GAC, ion exchange, reverse osmosis, and advanced oxidation; compare removal, concentrate handling, lifecycle cost; select scalable PFAS compliance solution.
  • Direct Potable Reuse Validation And Permitting Pathway: Design and run Direct Potable Reuse (DPR) pilots—reverse osmosis, Ultraviolet Advanced Oxidation (UV-AOP), carbon polishing; align regulators and community; de-risk permitting, costs, and schedule.
  • Biosolids And Resource Recovery Innovation Program: Pilot thermal hydrolysis, pyrolysis, gasification, struvite recovery, and biogas upgrading to renewable natural gas (RNG); validate markets and permits; optimize cost, PFAS risk, and odor.
  • Decentralized And Modular Treatment Pilots: Deploy containerized membrane bioreactors, packaged iron and manganese removal, and sidestream deammonification; compare performance and lifecycle cost; create playbooks for rural systems and growth deferral.
  • Stormwater Capture And One Water Demonstrations: Pilot green infrastructure, aquifer recharge, and smart inflow control; quantify flood mitigation, water quality, and supply benefits; develop financing and partnership models for citywide scale-up.

Sustainability

  • Scope 1–3 GHG Inventory And Net-Zero Roadmap: Build audit-ready inventory covering electricity, fleet, process nitrous oxide and methane, chemicals, and construction; set Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) pathway; prioritize abatements and governance.
  • Energy And Renewable Strategy For Treatment And Pumping: Develop energy master plan—efficiency, combined heat and power from biogas, solar, battery, power purchase agreements, demand response; cut kWh per MG and greenhouse emissions.
  • Biosolids Decarbonization And Circularity: Evaluate digestion optimization, biogas upgrading, and pyrolysis to biochar; cut methane emissions, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) risk, and lifecycle cost; monetize carbon credits.
  • Climate Risk Assessment And Resilience Planning: Quantify riverine, coastal, pluvial flood and drought risks; stress-test plants and networks; prioritize adaptation projects and nature-based solutions; integrate into Capital Improvement Plan.
  • Supplier Decarbonization And Low-Carbon Procurement: Launch supplier program for pipe, valves, concrete, chemicals—Environmental Product Declarations, Buy Clean, logistics optimization; set intensity targets; reduce Scope 3 Category 1 embodied carbon.

Compliance

  • SDWA Compliance Program And Sanitary Survey Readiness: Design Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) compliance program—monitoring plans, disinfection byproducts, total coliform, Consumer Confidence Reports; deliver sanitary survey readiness and fewer violations.
  • NPDES Permit Compliance And CMOM: Build National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) and Capacity Management, Operations, and Maintenance (CMOM) compliance—controls, SOPs, dashboards; reduce sanitary sewer overflows and permit violations.
  • Lead And Copper Rule Revisions Compliance And Inventory: Stand up Lead and Copper Rule Revisions (LCRR) program—service line inventory, sampling plan, corrosion control, replacement strategy, public communications; achieve compliance and funding readiness.
  • AWIA Risk And Resilience And Emergency Response Plans: Deliver America’s Water Infrastructure Act (AWIA) risk and resilience assessments and emergency response plans; run tabletop exercises; strengthen cybersecurity alignment and certification compliance.
  • Consent Decree Program Mobilization: Mobilize governance, controls, schedules, evidence, KPI reporting to satisfy Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of Justice (DOJ) consent decree obligations; accelerate compliance and termination.

Program & Portfolio Management

  • Enterprise PMO And Stage Gate Governance: Establish enterprise PMO, standard stage gates, approvals, RAID logs; apply across CIP, lead service line replacement, PFAS compliance, digital; improve on-time, on-budget delivery and auditability.
  • Risk-Based Portfolio Prioritization And Capital Allocation: Prioritize portfolios by regulatory risk, asset condition, service risk, affordability impact, and resilience; optimize sequencing and funding; maximize risk reduction per dollar and customer outcomes.
  • Integrated Master Schedule And Street Work Coordination: Develop integrated schedules across design, permits, procurement, traffic control, and restorations; align with moratoriums and capital partners; cut idle crews, change orders, and community disruption.
  • Portfolio Controls, Earned Value, And Forecasting: Implement portfolio-wide progress measurement, earned value, change control, and risk forecasting; standardize unit costs and dashboards; improve predictability, contingency usage, and stakeholder confidence.
  • Funding Compliance, Benefits Realization, And Reporting: Track outcomes against consent decrees, SRF and WIFIA commitments, affordability programs, and resilience goals; produce auditable reports; evidence benefits to commissions and governing boards.

Information Technology

  • SCADA And OT Architecture Modernization: Modernize SCADA and historian; standardize PLC and RTU templates; segment OT networks; rationalize alarms; improve uptime, compliance, and cybersecurity across plants, wells, and lift stations.
  • Disaster Recovery And Business Continuity Enablement: Design disaster recovery and business continuity for SCADA, CIS, CMMS, LIMS, and GIS; implement failover, immutable backups, and drills; meet recovery objectives and regulatory expectations.
  • Enterprise Integration And API Management: Deploy iPaaS and event streaming to connect CIS, GIS, SCADA, CMMS, LIMS, AMI, and finance; standardize APIs; eliminate manual reconciliations and reduce reporting cycle time.
  • OT And IT Cybersecurity Uplift: Harden SCADA and enterprise networks with zero-trust, identity, segmentation, patching, vulnerability management, and incident response; align to NIST CSF and AWWA guidance; reduce ransomware risk.
  • Cloud Migration And Application Rationalization: Rationalize legacy applications; migrate CMMS, LIMS, GIS, and analytics platforms to cloud or SaaS; modernize environments; lower total cost of ownership and technical debt.

Capital Projects

  • Front-End Loading And Class Estimating: Develop front end scope for plants, mains, and pump stations; route selection, constructability, Class 4 and Class 3 estimates; secure approvals, funding, and accurate bids.
  • Alternative Delivery And Procurement Strategy: Structure design build, construction manager at risk, progressive design build, and alliances; allocate risk, performance metrics, and incentives; accelerate PFAS, lead service line, plant upgrades.
  • Construction Management And Field Controls: Establish construction management office with quantities tracking, information requests, submittals, change control, daily reporting; improve productivity, unit cost, safety, schedule adherence, and documentation.
  • Commissioning And Startup Management: Plan and execute commissioning for treatment trains, control system integration, disinfection, hydrostatic testing; manage turnovers, operations and maintenance manuals, training; achieve startup and regulatory compliance.
  • Value Engineering And Constructability Reviews: Lead multidisciplinary reviews to optimize process trains, standardize equipment, staging, traffic control, and bypassing; reduce capital cost, change orders, and outages during construction.

Customer Service & Billing

  • Customer Journey And Digital Self-Service Redesign: Redesign start, stop, billing, payment, outage, and leak journeys; launch portal, mobile, e-bill, autopay, chat, SMS; lift digital adoption, reduce calls, improve satisfaction.
  • Contact Center Performance Transformation: Implement workforce management, knowledge base, quality monitoring, and IVR optimization; raise first contact resolution, cut average handle time and abandon rate; improve customer experience metrics.
  • Billing Accuracy And Exception Reduction: Analyze meter‑to‑cash root causes across meter reads, estimates, rates, proration, and CIS configuration; redesign controls and workflows; cut rebills, estimated bills, and bill complaints.
  • Credit, Collections, And Affordability Optimization: Redesign credit policies, deposits, segmentation, payment arrangements, and assistance programs; align with regulations and equity goals; reduce bad debt, disconnections, and days sales outstanding.
  • AMI Exception Management And Proactive Alerts: Stand up advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) exception handling and leak notifications; tune thresholds and outreach; cut no‑reads, truck rolls, bill shock, and customer escalations.

Asset Management

  • ISO 55001 Asset Management System Design: Design asset management policy, levels of service, criticality, decision rights, and assurance aligned to ISO 55001; institutionalize lifecycle governance and auditable, risk-informed investment decisions.
  • Asset Register And Hierarchy Standardization: Cleanse and standardize asset register, hierarchies, attributes, and GIS to CMMS alignment; enable traceability, work management, and regulatory reporting for water and wastewater systems.
  • Condition Assessment Program And Standards: Design multi‑year condition assessment for mains, sewers, and plants—CCTV inspections, acoustic leak surveys, pressure transient monitoring, and coating checks—to score condition and prioritize interventions.
  • Risk Based Renewal Planning And Optimization: Model likelihood and consequence of failure, deterioration, and service risk; optimize renewal portfolios for mains, sewers, and facilities; maximize risk reduction per dollar and compliance.
  • Maintenance Strategy Optimization And Reliability Centered Maintenance: Implement reliability centered maintenance, preventive and predictive intervals and failure codes; reduce corrective work, boost availability, and extend asset life for plants and networks.

Water Quality & Laboratory

  • LIMS Modernization And Data Integrity: Select and implement LIMS (Laboratory Information Management System); digitize chain‑of‑custody and benchsheets; integrate SCADA, GIS, CMMS; automate regulatory reporting; improve turnaround, traceability, and audit readiness.
  • Laboratory Quality Management And Accreditation Readiness: Design quality management system aligned to ISO/IEC 17025 and NELAP; standardize SOPs, method validation, proficiency testing, and corrective actions; achieve accreditation and defensible results.
  • Sampling And Monitoring Program Optimization: Optimize risk-based sampling plans for SDWA, DBP (THM/HAA5), PFAS, cyanotoxins, and NPDES; streamline routes and kits; cut cost, runouts, and violation exposure.
  • Distribution Water Quality And Corrosion Control Strategy: Design orthophosphate, pH/alkalinity, and flushing strategies to manage lead, iron, and THM/HAA5; align with Lead And Copper Rule; stabilize residuals and customer outcomes.
  • PFAS Monitoring And Treatment Readiness: Build PFAS (per‑ and polyfluoroalkyl substances) monitoring strategy—methods, labs, frequency, detection limits—and data workflows; inform treatment technology selection, funding applications, and communications.

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Find a consultant in our Water & Wastewater Utilities Practice

Prefer email? Write to [email protected]

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