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Providing Water Services to Other Public Agencies—Some Pros and Cons
Author(s) -
Diloreto Greg
Publication year - 2003
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.1551-8833.2003.tb10450.x
Subject(s) - business , water supply , water industry , certification , government (linguistics) , service (business) , water utility , environmental economics , environmental planning , environmental resource management , marketing , engineering , economics , environmental science , environmental engineering , linguistics , philosophy , management
This article discusses how an Oregon water utility contracted with three smaller government agencies to operate and manage their water systems. The objectives for doing this included: achieving a higher level of service; greater access to water supply; access to a larger staff with greater specialization in all areas of water supply and who had been state‐certified at the highest levels; assistance in water quality compliance; assistance with serious infrastructure needs; and, allowing more time to focus on other services such as parks and police instead of water supply or additional water sources. The article suggests several areas of concern that should be clarified before signing a contract, and also discusses the benefits and challenges of contracting.