Hammered by declining water sales, a declining population, fewer personnel, a shrinking industrial base, deteriorating infrastructure and rising costs, the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) faced a quandary.Sam Smalley arrived in June 2007 as assistant director of asset maintenance to take on the challenge of improving residential customer service and beefing up maintenance and rehabilitation, while keeping water rate increases to a minimum.He has made tough choices to improve efficiency in the department and to set priorities for improvements to the sewer and water systems. He is also leveraging technology — from simple tools like new root-cutting nozzles to
