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Satellite Management—Is It the Way to Go?
Author(s) -
Odegard Kevin
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
journal ‐ american water works association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.466
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1551-8833
pISSN - 0003-150X
DOI - 10.1002/j.1551-8833.2001.tb09327.x
Subject(s) - agency (philosophy) , plan (archaeology) , business , reliability (semiconductor) , state (computer science) , water utility , sma* , environmental economics , computer science , environmental resource management , operations management , water supply , engineering , economics , power (physics) , physics , archaeology , epistemology , algorithm , philosophy , quantum mechanics , environmental engineering , history
This article discusses the experiences of one utility as a satellite management agency (SMA) in Washington State that indicate there are both pros and cons to acquiring and then operating small water systems and individual wells. In the state of Washington, an SMA owns or operates multiple public water systems within a region under an approved ownership/operation plan. SMAs understand the pros and cons of owning and operating small water systems. On the positive side, they create continuity and reliability for rural water systems. They are also a common entity that the customers of small systems can trust to provide all the benefits of “big city” services. On the downside, newly acquired systems sometimes need expensive upgrades, which can undermine the financial stability of a utility's SMA operations.