NEWS: What is water worth? "Business case" goes well beyond dollar signs / #CleanWater2015

One can not solve the world's water problems in an hour. But Edwin Pinero used his hour to highlight five components of real solutions to the world's biggest water challenges.

Pinero kicked off The City Club of Cleveland's 2015 Year of Clean Water speaker series, and he was a fine voice to do so. He's the Senior Vice President of Sustainability and Public Affairs of Veolia Water North America, a firm focused on water, wastewater, and energy resources and resource recovery.

The biggest issue we face, in his words: "We understand water is important," he said, "but we lack understanding of the connection between water and every other aspect of our lives."

DOLLARS AND SENSE: Ways we are controlling costs

How are we keeping our Great Lake great and controlling costs?

We take our customers' investment in our work very seriously. Clean water protects the health and safety of all the citizens in our region, and we are proud of the work we do. But we understand customers want to be sure we are managing their rates efficiently, especially in the first year of a rate increase. Here are several examples of cost-saving efforts and examples we have noted in recent years.

Bond rating upgraded to second-highest possible ranking

Cleveland – On Friday, Oct. 29, 2010, Standard & Poor’s upgraded the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District’s bond rating from AA to AA+. In addition to the S&P upgrade, Moody’s reaffirmed the Sewer District’s prior rating of Aa1.