Special Districts Awards
Recognizing & showcasing innovations and best practices from around the country.
Innovation Award winners in each category include:
Citizens – Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority and the Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library
Operations – Illinois Tollway, Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, St. Charles Park District and the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District
Leadership - Lower Colorado River Authority, Atlanta Housing and the Soquel Creek Water District
Thank you for all your hard work and innovation this year. Check back in early 2023 to submit your new ideas. For any questions regarding the awards program or submission process please contact Janet Grenslitt.
Submission Categories
Technology Innovation: Citizens
This category recognizes districts that have utilized tech to improve service delivery to citizens – for example, making physical services available online, deploying new citizen engagement solutions, enhancing user experience, et al.
Technology Innovation: Leadership
This category recognizes district leaders who have led innovative tech initiatives. The nomination should highlight vision, leadership and the use of information technology.
Technology Innovation: Operations
This category recognizes districts that have utilized tech to improve internal operations with employees – for example reengineering business processes, enhancing security measures, et al.
2022 Ideas Worth Sharing
Citizens
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Library offers free high-speed access and hotspot lending program. -
Library distributed tech bundles containing computer, WiFi hotspot, mouse and flash drive.
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The district deployed online bill payment based on customer feedback.
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The tool helps constituents resolve problems fast, while increasing internal efficiency and transparency.
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Online renewals improve convenience for constituents and reduce staff workload.
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Users can submit air quality complaints, with photos, directly from a smartphone
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New site delivers thousands of free water-saving devices to residents.
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New collaboration portal for docents offers new features and flexibility
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Central Contra Costa Sanitary District in California marks its 75th anniversary by launching immersive, multimedia site.
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Over the past year, SEPTA has conducted extensive outreach to current and potential transit users to make the transit system more convenient and useful to residents.
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The Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) provides public transportation — including subway, commuter rail, bus, paratransit and ferry service — in the greater Boston Area. Last year, MBTA launched an easy-to-use online application for its Youth Pass program, which provides half-price fares to young riders with low income.
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The Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District (Midpen) — which manages more than 65,000 acres of public land in the San Francisco Bay Area — launched a suite of interactive mapping applications to make its redistricting process more transparent to residents.
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The Detroit Water and Sewerage Department, which serves nearly 700,000 people in the city of Detroit, upgraded its customer portal to enable city residents to conduct all water department business online.
Leadership
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The program was created by CIO Brian Benn and spearheaded by Senior Project Manager Ayanna Kennedy.
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Rhiannon Gainor Sanchez, enterprise data architect for LCRA, spearheaded the initiative.
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New system is expected to cut travel time by as much as 20% for some trips.
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Wastewater surveillance data can show virus trends faster than community testing
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Commissioner Jeanne Moeller has embraced innovative technologies.
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The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) is the largest municipal utility in the United States, serving four million residents and businesses in Los Angeles and surrounding communities. LADWP recently launched an interactive, multi-format IT leadership training program to upskill employees for future leadership positions within the department.
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The Soquel Creek Water District (SqCWD) in Santa Cruz County, California, is using innovative technologies to ensure a sustainable water supply for more than 40,000 residents on the state’s central coast.
Operations
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Cloud-based system simplifies vaccine access and improves access to shot records.
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The authority replaced more than 350 legacy radios before the 3G shutdown.
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New system provides an array of self-service GIS operations to support greenbelt stewardship.
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The new technology increased project output by more than 30%.
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New system reduces labor, saves paint and improves accuracy.
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The program produces data that helps the organization reduce energy consumption and costs.
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The centralized system reduces manual labor and increases visibility of strategic information for all staff.
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Mobile-friendly web app provides real-time information to improve incident response.
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Automated workflow increases transparency and efficiency
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Web-based system replaces radios and paper spreadsheets.
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The new technology replaces outdated physical desk phones to support hybrid work.
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The automated service answers common questions 24/7 and has cut IT tickets by 30%.
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Automated analysis of thermal imaging helps the district rapidly spot problems in its solar farms.
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The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (MWD) — the largest supplier of treated water in the U.S. — used innovative Agile project management techniques to comply with new regulatory requirements in its Water Quality Laboratory.
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The Palmdale Water District (PWD) is a retail water provider serving the city of Palmdale and other areas in northern Los Angeles County. The district deployed a mobile GIS application to replace paper notes used by maintenance crews.
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JCSD uses geographic information system (GIS) software to predict leaks and potential replacement costs for polyethylene water service lines used during the construction of some Eastvale housing developments several decades ago.
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GLWA recently developed a Water Quality Monitoring Dashboard that aggregates water quality data from collection devices on the Detroit River, including information from real-time monitoring buoy deployed last year near one of the authority’s water treatment plant intakes.
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To improve communication and share information between two separate but related agencies, the New York Power Authority (NYPA) worked with the New York State (NYS) Canal Corp. to launch a digital community of practice (CoP), a virtual communication hub for people with a common interest in the state’s canal system.
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Laketran, the regional public transportation system in Lake County, Ohio, serves more than 750,000 riders annually. Newly installed fast charging systems keep the system’s electric buses moving without the need to return to base for traditional overnight charging.
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The Albemarle County Service Authority (ACSA) provides drinking water to nearly 20,000 customers and sewer service to more than 16,000 customers near Charlottesville, Virginia. A new computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) gives ACSA a centralized, integrated hub for maintaining 350 miles of water mains and nearly 300 miles of sewer mains.
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The Emerald Coast Utilities Authority — a water, wastewater and sanitation services provider in Pensacola, Florida — recently created a security analyst position and launched a cybersecurity management program designed to increase cybersecurity awareness among employees, enhance systems and implement new protection mechanisms.
Special Districts
Technology Innovation Award: District of the Year - San Joaquin Regional Transit District
The San Joaquin Regional Transit District (RTD) – which provides bus service to the city of Stockton, Calif., and surrounding communities -- is the Special District Program’s 2021 District of the Year. RTD embraces innovation and experimentation as part of a holistic strategy to meet the changing needs of the community it serves. Even during the uncertainty of the past 18 months, RTD has continued to focus on innovation by reimagining its operations for a new hybrid workforce, launching sustainable fuel technologies for its fleet, and undertaking a first-of-its-type Next-Generation Study to better understand current and future transportation needs in its community.
