CCWA STRATEGIC MASTER PLANS
A Tradition of Planning
The Clayton County Water Authority creates a Strategic Master Plan (SMP) every decade to set priorities for meeting the community’s needs in cost effective ways. It’s a practice we started in 1960, only a few years after the Authority was established, and something we continue to this day. Setting a plan every 10 years allows us to adjust to changes in the community, and the plan can evolve to fit changing state and federal regulations. We also review the SMP every year to determine the priorities of identified projects and check our financial analysis so that costs for implementing necessary projects can be spread out over time. We also conduct an in-depth mid-term review of our SMP at the 5-year mark to help ensure we’re on the right track for meeting CCWA’s goals.
SMP projects are factored into the Authority’s budget and recommended rates submitted to CCWA’s Board. The Board sets rates annually after carefully reviewing the recommendations. With the size of our systems and facilities, planning to meet short and long-term goals helps ensure we remain fiscally responsible with our customers’ rates and earn their trust in us. It also supports our mission to provide quality water and quality services to our community while continuing to be a Utility of the Future Today.
In 2020, we completed our most recent SMP following a rigorous process including a series of staff workshops, facility tours, discussions on industry innovations, reviews of our 2015 SMP projects and ongoing studies, and much more. As a result of this effort, we identified 146 projects with funding requirements of nearly $626M through 2030 to maintain and improve our infrastructure, facilities, and operations. The projects focus on improvements across our entire our organization from managing and planning capacity at our water and wastewater treatment facilities to rehabilitating infrastructure and improving our business practices in finance, technology, and security. Even with the rate adjustment, we will need to secure low-interest loans to complete these efforts while maintaining affordability.
