Focus on the Field—Helping Customers Save Water
As we prepare for the shutdown of the Delaware Aqueduct in 2022, we have embarked on a mission to ensure an uninterrupted supply of drinking water by implementing water savings programs on both public and private properties through the Water Demand Management Plan (WDMP).
Project Manager Nigel Williams plays an integral role in achieving objectives set forth in the WDMP by overseeing the Toilet Replacement Program, a voucher-based program that provides a discount to customers on the cost of new toilet fixtures. The goal of this program is to incentivize owners of residential and multi-family buildings on the Multi-Family Conservation Program water billing rate to replace inefficient toilets, which can use anywhere from 3.5 to 5 gallons of water per flush, with high-efficiency certified models, which consume 1.28 gallons of water per flush or less.
Williams began his career in civil service with the Administration for Children’s Services, before leaving to pursue a career in the private sector for more than a decade. A calling for civil service lead him back to the City and he joined our Customer Service team, working first in the call center where he says he was able to gain a great deal of knowledge about the agency.
“I had some great Customer Service mentors, including John Wilson and the late Stephen Barry,” he said. “I learned that if we can just change the experience of one customer at a time, we’re makinga difference.”
Williams and his team have assisted more than 1,300 homeowners in obtaining free, high efficiency toilets which has saved these homeowners $1.57 million in new toilet costs, while helping to reduce water usage. To date, more than 12,600 toilets have been replaced citywide, achieving an estimated savings of 510,000 gallons of water per day.
The program has been extended to NYCHA properties, which will see 70 percent of toilets upgraded at more than 85 properties. The program has also been extended to 4,300 3-and 4-family property owners citywide, many of whom are low-income and seniors, who are enrolled in the Home Water Assistance Program.
A father of 10, Williams is a native New Yorker and currently resides in the East Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn. Three of his children are presently attending college and two have recently graduated. He says he tries to inspire his children to love the environment, and New York City, just as much as he does.
“Our first priority is to help people,”he said. “I could be off duty in the supermarket with my kids, but as a civil servant if someone comes up to me and asks for help with their water bill, I feel it’s my duty to help them. I make sure they always get a call back.”
