One Water Program Management: A Knowledge Base and Guidance Manual

Julie Labonte and Scott Aurit on project site

One Water Program Management: A Knowledge Base and Guidance Manual

The Water Industry’s First Research Project of its Kind on Program Management (WRF #5196)

HDR is partnering with the Water Research Foundation and the City of Los Angeles to advance the water industry’s state of knowledge on program management. Using a program management approach, water infrastructure owners can improve a larger number of assets more effectively and achieve benefits and control not available if projects were to be managed individually. The four-year project, which was initiated in October 2022, aims to provide foundational guidance on the planning and delivery of water infrastructure programs. Underlying project objectives include:

Increasing the adoption of a program management approach within the industry to help utilities and consultants improve a larger number of assets more effectively and achieve benefits and control not available by managing projects individually.
Building high-performance, integrated program teams by improving coordination and collaboration across multiple program partners, including utilities, consultants and construction contractors.

Background and Project Rationale

The American Society of Civil Engineering's 2021 report cards assigned the nation’s drinking water, stormwater and wastewater infrastructure grades of C-minus, D and D-plus, respectively. At the same time, water utilities are facing unprecedented challenges, including staff shortages amplified by a tight labor market and economic uncertainty fueled by inflationary pressures, material cost variability and supply chain issues. The need to upgrade our water infrastructure is undeniable. Other industry drivers substantiating the call for implementing large-scale capital improvement programs include:

The need for regional and large-scale initiatives to address water supply deficiencies, the degradation of various water bodies, future natural disasters and others.
Schedule requirements associated with regulatory compliance, grant conditions, legislative mandates, aging infrastructure and others.
Increased demand and need for one water, integrated solutions.

Approach

The best program management practices to be developed as part of this project will draw on the outcome of a comprehensive literature review of diverse publications, a detailed survey of U.S. and international utilities with program management experience, and workshops with participating utilities. The guidance developed as part of the study will be tested using a case study focused on Los Angeles’ Operations NEXT program.

Applying a One Water perspective to identify multiple benefits helps utilities look beyond the core water infrastructure needs and uncover opportunities to deliver broader environmental, community and economic value. To maximize the value and impact of a project or program, consider refining its scope to integrate the One Water perspective. We have been utilizing the "A-I-R" process — Assess, Identify and Reimagine — on WRF 5196 to activate these expanded benefits of One Water while transforming traditional approaches into innovative, multidimensional solutions.

Outcomes

Multi-Faceted Framework: Creating an adaptable, stepwise blueprint on how to structure the implementation of water programs to drive efficiency, accountability and quality.
Management Best Practices: Compiling prove and effective methods, processes and tools to optimize the planning and delivery of water programs of all types and sizes.
One Water Vision: Applying One Water principles to achieve business, community, and environmental benefits that extend beyond the initial desired program outcome.
High-Performance Teams: Creating highly collaborative, fully integrated program teams and partnerships unified by a common purpose and driven by a vision of success.