-
Water Resources
Toho Water Authority (Toho) has received national recognition as a ‘Utility of the Future Today’ for continually improving its operations. Toho is one of 65 water utilities being recognized for transformational work in community engagement, watershed stewardship, and recovery of resources such as water, energy, and nutrients. This is the third year running that Toho receives this recognition.
A variety of initiatives exist to promote and acknowledge excellent performance and sustainable management focused on Toho’s mission – providing reliable, cost effective and responsive water services to our customers while protecting public health and the environment. While upholding regulatory requirements at its forefront, Toho effectively plans and invests in maintaining and upgrading its infrastructure and facilities. Its success lies in the formation of unique partnerships that foster a culture of innovation.
The ‘Utility of the Future Today’ concept is being promoted as water systems face challenges such as aging infrastructure, water pollution, workforce shortages and impacts of climate change, including drought, floods, storms and sea level rise.
The recognition celebrates the achievements of water utilities that transform from the traditional wastewater treatment system to a resource recovery center and leader in the overall sustainability and resilience of the communities they serve.
Utilities that receive this recognition are expected to share their practices and experiences to create a community of practice around the ‘Utility of the Future Today’ and to enable other utilities to continually learn from each other and evolve as a sector.
The Utility of the Future Today program was launched in 2016 by the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), the Water Environment Federation (WEF), the Water Environment & Reuse Foundation (WE&RF) and the WateReuse Association, with input from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
This year, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, WEF and its partner organizations were not able to acknowledge the 2020 honorees in person at WEFTEC. Instead, a virtual Awards Ceremony was conducted on October 9 where Toho submitted a highlight reel to be featured in the recognition video. This video and others can be found on the Toho Water Authority YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/user/TohoWaterAuthority.
