The City of Baltimore and Baltimore County have interconnected water and sewerage systems. Pursuant to a 1972 intergovernmental water agreement, the City provides water services to County customers, including distribution, treatment, metering, billing, collections, and customer service. Pursuant to a 1974 intergovernmental sewerage agreement, the City provides sewerage (treatment and conveyance) services to the County through the operations of “jointly used facilities.” The County maintains its own sanitary sewer collection system in what is known as the Metropolitan District. The two agreements are central to the overall governance and coordination of the business, technical, and financial aspects between the City and the County. The City and County must continuously coordinate and collaborate on various business processes, including infrastructure planning and expansion, maintenance and repair, information and data exchange, customer service (including both wholesale and retail billing operations), and financial transactions.
The City and County hired the project team led by NewGen, with Cozen O’Connor, PEER Consultants, and Momentum as subcontractors to provide a comprehensive review of their water and sewerage services business processes. The project team performed the review based upon a comprehensive scope
of services grouped into six major tasks:
- Evaluate City-County Existing Service Agreements for Water/Sewer Services
- Review the City and County Organizational Structure and Governance Models
- Review Staffing
- Evaluate Water and Sewer System Planning and Management
- Assess Meter to Cash Operations
- Review Field Operations
Our efforts supported the City and County’s vision of creating the Utility of the Future, with intergovernmental coordination of processes and policies to ensure effective delivery of high quality and sustainable water and sewerage services to City and County customers.