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Consolidating six offices into one location eliminated unproductive travel time between corporate meetings.

A vital component of SAWS’ success was a willingness to embrace change. Despite unexpected new customer growth, SAWS employees maintained high levels of service under new leadership and business processes.

Headquarters Relocation
We consolidated six offices and 650 employees into one central location. This seamless move into our new headquarters was completed one month ahead of schedule and $1 million under budget.

Budget Variance Meetings
Each member of the Executive Management Team was held accountable in 2005 for budget variances during mandatory monthly meetings.

Debt Management
Strategic use of short-term tax-exempt commercial paper and refinanced long-term debt eliminated the burden of costly interest expense. With $157 million spent on construction in progress during 2005, SAWS experienced an increase of only $618,000 in net interest expense compared to 2004.

Integrated Control Room Our new headquarters features a state-of-the-art, fully integrated control room housing the Emergency Operations Center and our SCADA Center.

Facilities / Equipment
We upgraded our Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition Center (SCADA) monitoring system, improving our emergency response functions. SAWS also installed a new data center in the new headquarters, and launched an Information System procurement process which will totally integrate our operations.

Reduced Expenses
Despite unexpected increases in fuel and utility costs, operating and maintenance expenses were $8.1 million under budget. Expenses on temporary employees were reduced by 55 percent, while expenses on travel and conferences were down 25 percent.

Real Results
Unprecedented improvements in productivity, cost savings, and efficiency were the largest factors in reducing the 2006 projected rate increase by approximately $33 million.

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