Effectively managing all aspects of operations is critical for all utilities, regardless of size or location, to ensure their long-term sustainability and to keep the communities they serve strong, safe, and sustainable.

EPA works with six national organizations that support drinking water and wastewater utilities to promote effective utility management (EUM) based on a series of attributes of effectively managed water sector utilities.

• Attributes of Effectively Managed Water Sector Utilities Exit- Targets medium and larger utilities that have seen significant benefits from using EUM to improve their operations. Additional information about this initiative is at Water Effective Utility Management Exit.

Building on the success of this effort, EPA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Rural Utilities Service (RUS) developed two tools for rural and small water and wastewater systems to help improve organization-wide performance. They focus on operations, infrastructure, customer satisfaction, community sustainability, natural re­source stewardship, and financial viability.

• The Rural and Small Systems Guidebook - Provides rural and small systems with a series of steps for assessing their operations based on key management areas.
• Workshop in a Box and supplemental materials - Help systems and service providers conduct workshops on their own.
• Providing Sustainable Utility Management Strategies and Resources - View a short video that highlights the attributes of the Rural and Small Systems Guidebook and its companion material, Workshop in a Box:

    ​Click below to view the video.

Tools to Implement Effective Utility Management

Medium and Larger Systems

• Effective Utility Management Primer - Provides steps for utilities to assess their operations using the attributes and a series of suggested utility performance measures to gauge progress over time.
• An electronic resource "toolbox" and a full range of information about the EUM Initiative is available at Water Effective Utility Management Exit.
• EPA's Resource Guide to Effective Utility Management and Lean - Provides information and case studies to help utilities use Lean techniques and tools to achieve the outcomes associated with the EUM Attributes. Lean helps identify ways to eliminate waste and improve the overall efficiency of utility operations.
• EPA webinars about EUM and Lean tools:
  • Effective Utility Management and Lean at Water-Sector Utilities - Provides a brief overview describing EUM and Lean concepts and methods and described how to get started with EUM and Lean.
  • Effective Utility Management and Lean/Six Sigma Initiatives, Presentation by the Pompano Bean Utilities Department - Highlights the utility’s successes using EUM concepts and Lean methods.
  • Leveraging Utility Performance with Effective Utility Management and Lean/Six Sigma Initiatives, Presentation by Clean Water Services - Highlights the utility’s successes using EUM concepts and Lean methods.

Rural and Small Systems

• EPA and USDA's Rural and Small Systems Guidebook to Sustainable Utility Management - Provides steps to help systems assess their operations based on key management areas that align closely with the attributes.
• EPA and USDA's Workshop in a Box. This tool contains materials and instructions to help rural and small systems and service providers market and conduct workshops based on the guidebook.
• The following Workshop in a Box Supplemental Materials include sample workshop presentations, worksheets for participants, sample agendas, and other materials to help systems and service providers conduct workshops:

  You may need additional software to view some of the links on this page. See EPA’s Free Viewers and Readers page

  • Template 1a: Multi-System Workshop Promotional Email (Workshop in a Box Supplemental Materials)(1 pg, 21 K)
  • Template 1b: Team Workshop Promotional Email (Workshop in a Box Supplemental Materials)(1 pg, 21 K)
  • Template 2: Promotional Brochure (Workshop in a Box Supplemental Materials)(2 pp, 1 MB)
  • Template 2a: Promotional Email for Multi System Workshop (Workshop in a Box Supplemental Materials)(1 pg, 14 K)
  • Template 2b: Promotional Email for Team Exercise Workshop (Workshop in a Box Supplemental Materials)(1 pg, 15 K)
  • Template 3: Promotional Brochure (Workshop in a Box Supplemental Materials)(2 pp, 377 K)
  • Template 3a: Multi-System Workshop Agenda (Workshop in a Box Supplemental Materials)(2 pp, 172 K)
  • Template 3b: Team Exercise Workshop Agenda (Workshop in a Box Supplemental Materials)(2 pp, 172 K)
  • Template 4: Sign-in Sheet (Workshop in a Box Supplemental Materials)(1 pg, 167 K)
  • Template 5: Feedback Form (Workshop in a Box Supplemental Materials)(5 pp, 176 K)
  • Template 6: Decision Maker Invitation Letter (Workshop in a Box Supplemental Materials)(1 pg, 27 K)
  • Template 7: Decision Maker Invitation Flyer (Workshop in a Box Supplemental Materials)(3 pp, 938 K)
  • Template 8: Workshop Participant Talking Points (Workshop in a Box Supplemental Materials)(1 pg, 28 K)
  • Document 1a: Workshop Slides for Multi System Workshop (Workshop in a Box Supplemental Materials)(56 pp, 8 MB)
  • Document 1b: Workshop Slides for Team Exercise Workshop (Workshop in a Box Supplemental Materials)(55 pp, 8 MB)
  • Document 2: Self-Assessment Worksheet (Workshop in a Box Supplemental Materials)(2 pp, 550 K)
  • Document 3: Improving Outcomes Worksheet (Workshop in a Box Supplemental Materials)(1 pg, 36 K)
  • Document 4a: Resources Guide for Rural and Small Systems (Electronic spreadsheet) (Workshop in a Box Supplemental Materials)(6 pp, 38 K)
  • Document 4b: Resources Guide - Printable Version (Workshop in a Box Supplemental Materials)(2 pp, 199 K)
  • Document 5: Sustainable Management Action Plan Worksheet (Workshop in a Box Supplemental Materials)(1 pg, 34 K)
  • Document 6: Next Steps for Your Utility (Workshop in a Box Supplemental Materials)(2 pp, 26 K)
  • Document 7: Next Steps for Facilitators and Technical Assistance Providers (Workshop in a Box Supplemental Materials)(3 pp, 28 K)