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Utilities Business Review: Specials Magazine
Watts
Engineering A More Complete Approach To Water Quality
Water quality rarely comes down to one contaminant or one piece of equipment. Watts approaches the problem across treatment, filtration, disinfection, conditioning and scale prevention, giving residential and commercial customers a broad portfolio from which to address different water conditions. Its water quality offering includes point-of-use filtration and reverse osmosis, whole-house treatment, UV disinfection, water softeners, anti-scale systems and commercial filtration. That breadth supports Watts’ positioning as a single-source water quality partner. The company says its portfolio is designed to simplify specification, procurement and service while serving a wide range of residential and commercial applications. Its engineering-backed approach also draws on more than six decades of water treatment innovation, connecting product selection with the practical requirements of installation and use. The distinction becomes clearer when individual technologies are viewed as parts of a treatment strategy. Watts can combine filtration, reverse osmosis, scale reduction and UV treatment in engineered systems, allowing the treatment sequence to reflect the water challenge instead of forcing every application into the same solution.
Grid
The Mosaic Company
Making Every Utility Modernization Investment Count
Kyle Comstock, Senior Vice President of Grid Modernization
Utilities are navigating an extraordinary wave of technology change. GIS, customer information systems, asset management platforms and advanced distribution management systems are being deployed, often with limited internal resources available to manage them. Running multiple major initiatives simultaneously can create risk. Operational requirements can be overlooked until late in the process, creating challenges during implementation. Keeping technology aligned with the realities of utility operations is essential to successful modernization. The Mosaic Company brings operational and technology expertise together to help utilities de-risk complex technology investments. Its teams include former control room operators, engineers, linemen, substation electricians and utility support professionals, alongside specialists with SCADA and ADMS experience. Combining these perspectives helps Mosaic understand what a utility needs from the operational side and translate those needs for the technology teams responsible for configuring and deploying the systems. It gets involved early to define requirements and stays through design, configuration, deployment, training and workforce preparation. For Mosaic, go-live is not the return on the investment. It helps utilities establish the support structure, skills and operating processes to continue extracting value from technology investments made on behalf of their customers and ratepayers. “We’re not just deploying a technology, but we’re really helping clients deploy a technological tool that drives business and operational value,” says Kyle Comstock, senior vice president of grid modernization. Mosaic’s journey began nearly 30 years ago with workforce development and training in the utility industry. The company later expanded into electric operations in 2018 as utilities increasingly needed help putting new technologies into practice. Mosaic initially joined projects toward the end, supporting business processes and training. Customer demand soon brought the company into earlier project stages, where it began helping utilities determine technology requirements, design and configure systems and connect operational needs with technology deployment.
Wastewater Treatment
What looked like an ordinary crawl space told Joseph Potyak a different story. During one inspection, he noticed several support beams positioned unusually close to the foundation wall. A closer examination revealed significant bowing (technically knuckling) along two sides of the house, a condition he associated with hydrostatic pressure. The seller maintained that it had been that way for years, but Potyak explained the concern to the prospective buyers and why a superficial repair would be little more than a “big band-aid.” He recalls a repair estimate of roughly $40,000 to $50,000. The buyers ultimately decided not to purchase the property. The inspection did not determine whether they should walk away. It gave them information they did not have before the inspection, allowing them to make that decision themselves. That approach is central to Riverside Home & Septic Inspections, which helps residential buyers understand both the property and its septic system before completing a purchase. “The person looking to buy the house is the client. Our role is to identify the issue, explain what it means and give them the information to make their own decision,” says Potyak, owner.
Utilities Construction
Navigating Complexity in Gas Utility Construction, Strengthening Risk Mitigation
Awet Haddis, Senior Project Manager, Puget Sound Energy
Wastewater Treatment
Championing Strategic Leadership in Water and Forest Sustainability
Elvy Barton, Water and Forest Sustainability Senior Manager, Salt River Project
Grid
Powering the Future through Data, Innovation and Resilience
Marcus Johansson, Senior Executive, Wildfire Mitigation, Digital Transformation, Grid Modernization, Xcel Energy
Emergency Management
Leading Utilities with Purpose
Jason McIlwee, P.E., Deputy Director of Utilities- Administration and Engineering, City of Charlottesville
Wastewater Treatment
Engineering for Resilient Communities
Michele Paul, Director of Resilience and Environmental Stewardship, City of New Bedford
IN MY OPINION
Utilities AI
Mind The Gap: How The EPC Bridges Bess Design And Field Reality
Travis Leanna, Director of Energy Storage, Conductor Power
LAST WORD
Field Operations
Generating Customer Satisfaction Through Construction
Daryle S. Blue, Construction Manager, Opterra Energy Systems
IN FOCUS
Navigating Water Quality Challenges in Modern Business Environments
Effective water quality management supports operational efficiency, regulatory compliance, resource conservation, and informed business investment.
Septic Inspection Solutions Strengthening Utility Infrastructure Performance and Compliance
Advanced septic inspection solutions help utilities improve wastewater reliability, support regulatory compliance, optimize asset management, and enhance sustainability.
EDITORIAL
Engineering the Utility of Tomorrow
The utilities industry is moving towards a stage where engineering expertise and operational knowledge are key to making any real progress. This issue of Utilities Business Review focuses on the ways in which the use of engineering expertise and operational knowledge has been helping utilities make the most of emerging technologies.
At the center of the issue is Watts, recognized as Top Water Quality Solutions 2026. Its approach brings filtration, reverse osmosis, UV disinfection, water softening, scale prevention and monitoring into a broad water quality portfolio. Applications ranging from municipal treatment to commercial facilities demonstrate how Watts connects individual technologies into treatment strategies suited to specific water conditions. Its documented customer applications and engineering-led approach reinforce its role in addressing water safety, equipment protection, conservation and long-term system performance.
The issue also features The Mosaic Company, recognized as Top Grid Modernization and Utility Operations Services 2026, for connecting utility operations expertise with technology implementation. Mosaic’s work with network models, workforce readiness and change management underscores the importance of aligning people, processes and technology throughout modernization initiatives. Riverside Home & Septic Inspection, recognized as Top Septic Inspections Solutions 2026, assists potential homeowners in detecting issues related to structure and septic before committing to a property.
The contributor perspectives extend that focus into project execution. Travis Leanna, Director of Energy Storage at Conductor Power, examines how early EPC coordination can resolve physical, digital and grid-interconnection issues before they reach the construction site. Awet Haddis, Senior Project Manager at Puget Sound Energy, emphasizes embedding risk management throughout gas utility projects through early stakeholder engagement, cross-functional collaboration and proactive planning.
Together, these stories show that utility progress depends not only on new technology but on how effectively organizations engineer, integrate and manage it. We invite readers to explore the issue’s profiles and insights for a closer look at the practices shaping more capable and resilient utility operations.
