Water Utilities News

The City of Lee’s Summit is pleased to announce Jeff Thorn's appointment as director of Water Utilities, effective March 20. Thorn replaces Mark Schaufler, who retired in February after serving the City for 31 years. Thorn has more than 28 years of experience in engineering, project management and the construction of water and wastewater projects. For the past five years, he has been the deputy director of Lee’s Summit Water Utilities, managing the Engineering Division, Operations Division and Facilities Group. In this role, he provided specific technical support and guidance related to the water distribution systems, wastewater collection systems and facilities, equipment and controls. Before that, he served as the utility’s assistant director of engineering, managing all engineering aspects for the water and wastewater utility.  In his new role,...

Following a distinguished career of more than 40 years of public service, Director of Water Utilities Mark Schaufler has announced his retirement effective Feb. 3. Schaufler has led Lee’s Summit Water Utilities for the past 21 years, shaping it into a nationally accredited and award-winning agency committed to exceptional customer service and operational excellence.

Lee’s Summit Water Utilities is proud to announce it recently received full accreditation from the American Public Works Association. This accreditation formally verifies and recognizes that Water Utilities complies with the recommended management practices set forth by the American Public Works Association.

Lee’s Summit Water Utilities is proud to announce the receipt of two prestigious customer service awards recognizing its commitment to excellence in serving the Lee’s Summit community.

The ETC Institute’s Leading the Way award was given to Lee’s Summit Water Utilities to recognize its ranking in the top 10% of municipalities for outstanding performance in core areas assessed in the DirectionFinder® Survey.

Lee’s Summit Water Utilities released results from the 2023 Customer Satisfaction Survey that show customer satisfaction ratings significantly higher than the U.S. and regional averages. The survey is administered by ETC Institute to a random sample of households and provides a snapshot of how customers view the delivery of water and sewer services. Of the 402 respondents, 84% indicated overall satisfaction with the delivery of services, a 2% increase over last year. As a whole, customers continue to have confidence in the reliability of water service (96%), the reliability of sanitary sewer service (95%), the clarity of drinking water (89%), the smell of drinking water (88%) and variety of bill payment options available (87%). “We appreciate our customers investing their time in helping us with our goal of continual improvement,” said Director of Water...