SouthWest Water Names Floyd E. Wicks Chief Executive Officer

SouthWest Water Company announced that its new owners, investors advised by J.P. Morgan Asset Management and Water Asset Management, LLC, have selected Floyd E. Wicks as chief executive officer. Wicks succeeds Mark A. Swatek, who is leaving the company to pursue other opportunities.

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EPA to Survey Community Water Systems to Estimate Capital Investment Needs

The Environmental Protection Agency is preparing to conduct the 2011 Drinking Water Infrastructure Needs Survey and Assessment, which will provide EPA with a basis for estimating the nationwide infrastructure needs of public water systems.

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NRRI to Host Teleseminar on Water Rate Design Principles

The National Regulatory Research Institute (NRRI) is hosting a teleseminar, “Water Rate Design Principles in an Era of Supply Shortages, Infrastructure Upgrades, and Increased Water Conservation,” on Thursday, Sept. 30, 2010, at 2 p.m. EST.

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Water is Your Business Campaign to Host Town Hall on Impact of Water Infrastructure on Business and the Economy
NAWC, U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Irving Chamber team to lead discussion.

The Water is Your Business Campaign, a project of the National Association of Water Companies and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, will host a town hall discussion on Tuesday, Oct. 5, at 8:30 a.m. (CT) at the Irving-Las Colinas Chamber of Commerce. The discussion will feature members of the Irving business community and will focus on the relationship between water infrastructure, local businesses and the local economy.

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Commission “Branding”: Can It Help Produce Utility Performance?

The following essay by NRRI Executive Director Scott Hempling, Esq. is reprinted with permission.

For Utility Commissions, Does Branding Belong?
There is plenty to dislike about the verb “to brand.” Its connotations include manipulating emotions and manufacturing loyalty through oversimplification and slickness. “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter” brands itself as “zero calories” only because each spray-shot’s calorie count falls below the quantity at which the FDA allows ads to assert, falsely, “zero” calories.

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