It’s #ELGLHaverford time! We’re pleased to recognize the top 25 local government companies as nominated by ELGL members. Learn more about the Haverford Award, and then check out our website every day this week to learn about five new companies added to the 2020 Haverford Award list.
Contact information:
Company information:
- Industry sector(s): Public Works
- Minority/Woman Owned Business: No
- Shared content/expertise with ELGL: No
- Participated in ELGL events/activities: No
Nomination information:
Describe your work and interactions with the nominee – how have you worked with them, on what projects, and in what capacity?
- Buffalo Grove formed a public/private partnership with Aquify in order to explore machine learning and AI opportunities and leverage the tools available through a large energy utility provider for the village’s water utility.
The company, including Lev Goldberg, Pat Graves, and Emma Quail, have been eager partners, consistently looking out for the best long term and sustainable solutions as they learn the ins and outs of a water utility while sharing their knowledge and resources from a large energy utility perspective.
Innovation is happening rapidly with their involvement. And they have water resources and improved government function at the core of what they do. It shines in every interaction to treat this as a full team approach.
What was the product/outcome of your relationship with the company?
- Using new public‐private models helped the village implement solutions at lower costs and with less risk while leveraging Aquify to do the work we may not have staff to do.
With an overall goal to get help analyzing all the streams of data we’re collecting these days, while not having the staff time to analyze data in real time, we now have a partnership in place to utilize tools to identify system leaks faster, save money through lost revenue reductions, and explore opportunities to better leverage data to inform customers and protect tax dollar investments in infrastructure.
What are three words you’d use to describe the company?
- Smart, Long-Range, and Collaborative
Describe the on-boarding process for your work with the company – either when you personally started working with them, or when your organization did. What could someone else in local government know about starting work with this company?
- Aquify’s team is friendly and eager to learn about how each municipality managers their water infrastructure. They know the foundations of monitoring and smart water infrastructure, but bring a tailored approach to work with what’s best for the community itself.
What’s the most interesting or fun aspect of your work with the company?
- Just bouncing ideas off each other and a consistent drive to do better, from all aspects (water quality, conservation of water resources, protection of infrastructure, etc.) It’s a true collaboration, not just a product.
What is the company’s pricing structure? Please be as descriptive as possible.
- Based on utility size and number of sensors installed/data sources.
How has your relationship with the company evolved or changed over time? How has the company reacted to or addressed any changes that your organization has requested in the scope/focus of your work together?
- This is always evolving, and always changing course as both sides tease out new ideas and adapt.
Anything else to add about the company that we haven’t already asked you?
- Its great to see Exelon’s resources made available to municipalities through their Aquify company. It really provides an opportunity for new staffing and partnership models to form, which will be so important in a post-Covid world of tighter and tighter municipal budgets and higher than ever customer expectations. Aquify is leading the charge with a sustainable partnership view.