Richmond, Virginia · Serving U.S. Small & Rural Water Utilities

Engineering resilience for America's most underserved water systems.

Great Oaks Consulting Services provides pump energy audits, non-revenue water diagnostics, cybersecurity assessments, regulatory compliance support, and workforce training, built exclusively for small and rural community water systems that need expert help most.

Explore Our Services See Our Results
30%
Energy Reduction
Pump BEP audit · Ghana Water booster stations
17pts
NRW Reduction
Non-revenue water from 32% to 15% of production
7,000+
People Served
First-ever piped water · World Bank / CWSA, Ghana
$100K+
CAPEX Avoided
Fire pump re-engineering · World Bank facility, Sierra Leone
Licensed Engineer (MGhIE) ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity CompTIA Security+ B.Sc. Mechanical Engineering
Licensed Engineer · MGhIE
ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity (CC)
CompTIA Security+ Certified
EPA & USDA RD Program Aligned
AWIA 2018 Compliant Assessments
14+ Years Water Infrastructure Experience
About Great Oaks

Built for the utilities that need help most.

Great Oaks Consulting Services is a specialized engineering and management consulting firm headquartered in Richmond, Virginia. We work exclusively with small and rural community water systems: the more than 90% of U.S. water utilities that serve fewer than 10,000 people and lack access to in-house engineering, cybersecurity, or workforce development expertise.

More than 40,000 water systems across the United States face a documented and urgent capacity deficit: aging infrastructure, chronic regulatory violations, an accelerating workforce retirement wave, and growing cybersecurity vulnerabilities. The national consequence of this deficit, measured in boil-water notices, SDWA violations, emergency service outages, and public health risks, far exceeds what existing public-sector programs can currently address.

Great Oaks Consulting Services exists to close that gap. Our team brings more than 14 years of hands-on engineering experience diagnosing and solving exactly these problems, applied to rural and resource-constrained water systems that mirror, almost precisely, the operating conditions of small water utilities in the United States.

Community ImpactSolutions that directly improve the daily lives of underserved populations and strengthen the resilience of local water infrastructure.
Technical ExcellenceRigorous engineering, data-driven assessments, and high-quality written deliverables on every engagement.
IntegrityTransparent, accountable, and ethical decision-making in service to the public good.
Capacity BuildingWe train and mentor local operators, not just fix problems temporarily.
ResilienceEvery recommendation is designed to last: technically, operationally, and financially.
CollaborationClose partnership with operators, utility boards, and state programs to create solutions that are locally owned and sustainable.
Great Oaks engineers reviewing pump and valve performance in the field at a rural water pump station, water tower in background

Field diagnostics at a rural pump station: the working conditions every Great Oaks engagement is built around.

What We Do

Water Utility Performance & Resilience Program

Six modular service lines, engineered for small systems. Engage one module or the full program. Every engagement produces written deliverables your utility owns and can act on.

Engineers inspecting a pump valve actuator during a field energy audit
Module 01
Pump & Energy Audits
Field performance testing against Best Efficiency Point. We find where your energy dollars are going, and how to recover them.
  • Pump curve analysis vs. actual performance
  • Wire-to-water efficiency calculation
  • BEP deviation report and priority ranking
  • VFD and impeller trim recommendations
  • Energy savings projections (kWh and dollars)
  • Procurement specification support
Module 02
Non-Revenue Water Diagnostics
Every unaccounted gallon is money your utility produced and never collected. We find it, quantify it, and map a recovery path.
  • IWA Water Balance calculation
  • Infrastructure Leakage Index (ILI) benchmarking
  • Meter accuracy audit
  • Minimum night flow analysis by zone
  • Loss Reduction Roadmap with payback periods
Consulting team reviewing a capital improvement plan and funding strategy in a boardroom meeting
Module 03
LCCA Procurement Support
Make capital investment decisions based on true total cost, not just the lowest bid today.
  • Net Present Value comparison matrix
  • Sensitivity analysis (energy, interest, life)
  • RFP / IFB technical specification sections
  • Vendor evaluation criteria development
  • Lifecycle cost recommendation memorandum
Great Oaks trainer presenting a water system performance analysis to utility operators in a classroom
Module 04
Workforce Training
Built for small systems. We train your operators on the real conditions of your specific facility, not a generic classroom curriculum.
  • Skills needs assessment and gap analysis
  • Custom training curriculum design and delivery
  • Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
  • Operator succession planning guide
  • State continuing education credit alignment
Module 05
Compliance Gap Review
Find your SDWA vulnerabilities before the state does. We map every applicable rule to your practices and build a remediation plan.
  • Regulation-by-regulation gap analysis
  • Compliance calendar and monitoring schedule
  • Consumer Confidence Report (CCR) support
  • LCRI service line inventory support
  • Sanitary survey preparation
Utility staff reviewing SCADA and GIS monitoring dashboards in a control room
Module 06
Cybersecurity Assessment
SCADA and remote monitoring systems are under attack. We assess your exposure and build the Incident Response Plan AWIA requires.
  • EPA / CISA framework baseline assessment
  • SCADA vulnerability register
  • AWIA-compliant Incident Response Plan
  • Cybersecurity policy templates
  • Staff awareness training and tabletop exercise
Proven Results

Measurable outcomes. Third-party verified.

Every figure below is drawn from a documented project record: an institutional impact statement, published case study, or independently verified report.

30%
Energy Reduction
Ghana Water booster stations · BEP pump audit and optimization
32→15%
NRW Reduction
IWA Water Balance · distribution leakage program
~6,800
Students Served
UGEL, University of Ghana · water reliability upgrade, 4 halls
$100K+
CAPEX Avoided
World Bank Sierra Leone · fire pump hydraulic re-engineering
7,000+
People · First Piped Water
Bafikrom WTP, Ghana · World Bank / CWSA, 15 communities
14+
Years of Experience
Water infrastructure engineering across Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Liberia
Pump Audit · Ghana Water Company
Booster Station Energy Optimization
BEP audit and high-efficiency pump installation across multiple booster stations. Result: 30% energy cost reduction verified against utility electricity billing records.
NRW Diagnostics · Ghana Water
Non-Revenue Water Recovery Program
IWA Water Balance methodology applied across distribution system. NRW reduced from 32% to 15%, recovering millions of treated gallons annually and restoring lost revenue.
System Reliability · UGEL, University of Ghana
Halls of Residence Water Upgrade
Four halls, 6,800 students. Chloride corrosion diagnosed and resolved. BEP pumps, hydropneumatic vessel, and HDPE piping installed. Stable pressure. Zero failures. Lower energy. System performed during the 13th Africa Games.
The National Challenge

America's small water systems are in crisis. Great Oaks was built to respond.

The United States faces a well-documented and urgent capacity deficit among its 150,000+ small and rural water utilities. The consequences are not abstract: they are measured in boil-water notices, SDWA violations, service outages, and public health risk in some of the nation's most vulnerable communities.

Challenge 1
Legacy and Aging Infrastructure
Much of the nation's drinking water infrastructure is decades old, in some cases exceeding its intended design life. As documented in high-profile cases such as Flint, Michigan, and in thousands of smaller rural systems, aging pipes and treatment assets pose contamination risks and service disruptions. Many small systems lack fully implemented asset management plans and struggle to prioritize and finance rehabilitation, even with historic levels of federal funding now available through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
Challenge 2
Small Systems With Limited Capacity
More than 90% of the nation's approximately 51,000 community water systems serve fewer than 10,000 people. Many serve fewer than 3,300 or even 500 people. These systems face unique operational and financial challenges: aging infrastructure, rising costs, declining rate bases, and limited staff, leading to inefficient, reactive operations rather than the proactive asset management and optimization their communities deserve. The scale of unmet need far exceeds what existing public-sector programs can address.
Challenge 3
Workforce Shortages and Succession Risk
The U.S. EPA has documented serious workforce challenges across the water infrastructure sector. Roughly one-third of the water utility workforce is expected to retire within the next decade, at the same time that systems must adapt to more advanced technologies, new contaminants, and more stringent regulatory requirements. Recruiting young professionals and retraining the existing workforce is now a central concern for utilities nationwide. Small systems, which often run on a single operator, are most exposed to this succession risk.
Challenge 4
Cybersecurity and Digital Resilience
The modernization of water utilities, including SCADA systems and remote monitoring, brings efficiency gains but also new vulnerabilities. Recent EPA and GAO reports emphasize that cyberattacks against public water systems are increasing, and that a successful attack could result in unsafe water or prolonged service disruptions. EPA and CISA have released new tools and guidance for the water sector, underscoring the urgency. Most small systems have no cybersecurity posture, no incident response plan, and no awareness training for staff.
"Great Oaks Consulting Services' proposed endeavor, consulting for small and medium-scale water providers across the United States, is squarely aligned with the national interest and directly responsive to some of the most pressing challenges facing our water sector. Its ability to design practical, incremental solutions, with a strong emphasis on training, local ownership, and capacity building, is precisely the kind of expertise we need to complement federal and state programs."
Jarrett Talley, Director, Training, Capacity Development, and Outreach Office of Drinking Water, Virginia Department of Health
109 Governor Street, Richmond, Virginia 23219
How We Work

Partner with Great Oaks

We approach every engagement as a partnership with the utility, its board, and the community it serves, built on trust, transparency, and deliverables the utility owns long after the engagement ends.

Public & Rural Utilities

Community water systems, rural water associations, and municipal utilities serving fewer than 10,000 people. We deliver pump audits, non-revenue water diagnostics, compliance reviews, and workforce training sized to a small system's budget and staff.

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State & Federal Programs

State drinking water programs and federal technical assistance networks looking for a responsive engineering partner to extend their capacity, from AWIA-aligned cybersecurity assessments to LCCA procurement support on IIJA-funded projects.

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Licensed Engineering Practice
Mechanical engineering expertise applied to water infrastructure
ISC2 Certified in Cybersecurity
Certified staff supporting AWIA-aligned assessments
CompTIA Security+ Certified
Recognized IT and OT security credential
EPA & USDA RD Program Aligned
Methodology built around federal water program requirements

Is your water system ready for what's coming?

Every engagement starts with a free 30-minute scoping call. Tell us what's not working, and we'll tell you what we can do about it.

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Get In Touch

Start with a conversation.

We work with community water systems, rural water associations, state drinking water programs, and federal technical assistance networks. Reach out and let's talk about your system's needs.

Principal Office
Richmond, Virginia 23222
Serving VA · NC · SC · Nationwide
Email
info@greatoaksconsulting.org
contact@greatoaksconsulting.org
specialist@greatoaksconsulting.org
engineering@greatoaksconsulting.org
Phone
+1 (562) 482-9621
Business Hours
Monday – Friday, 8:00 AM – 6:00 PM ET
Emergency advisory available for active clients