Management of Change in Water Companies: In Search of Sustainability and Excellence (Paperback)

Management of Change in Water Companies tells real stories of real water companies that went through processes of change and achieved their best results ever in just a few years. It reflects the personal experience of the author from leading processes of change in five different water supply/sewage companies, between 10 and 120 years old and serving from 200,000 to 4,000,000 people. This practical and effective book shows: how to change, modernize and make profitable old-fashioned organizations, how to reduce water loss and promote efficiency in water companies, how to use the savings to rehabilitate and expand infrastructure without increasing tariffs, how to deal with overstaffing, how to plan, finance, build and maintain infrastructure, how to introduce innovation, how to motivate people, how to deal with clients, regulators, unions, shareholders, politicians and the press how to achieve sustainability. The case studies provide for instance, how to halve water losses in less than a year mostly with management measurements and very little investment, how to bring water losses from over 50% to below 20% in six years, how to use the savings from water loss reduction to build a new wastewater system without increasing tariffs, how to connect 100,000 existing buildings to a new sewage system in 4 years and how to get millions of people walking along the banks of rehabilitated urban creeks, rivers and beaches. The book presents case studies, management theory, comparative analysis of situations reported in the literature and the personal experience of an author who has lead a number of successful processes of change in different water companies. Management of Change in Water Companies is essential reading for water utility managers, national and local governments responsible for water policy as well as those concerned with the management of change and risk management. It is also useful to readers interested in the areas of pollution control, energy savings and water losses, and stream / beach / river restoration. Joaquim Pocas Martins is Professor at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Porto, Portugal, and provides excellent courses on the management of change in water companies world-wide.