System Planning For Water Utilities

By American Water

The water sector is one of the most capital intensive utilities in the United States, more so than other regulated utilities such as electric, gas, and telecommunications. Capital investment and upgrades will continue to be needed well into the future to replace deteriorating infrastructure, address new and more stringent regulatory requirements, and adjust to shifts and growth in population.

One of the major challenges facing the water and wastewater industry in the United States is the age of its infrastructure. Much of the vast network of aging treatment plants, pumping stations, storage facilities, and nearly 700,000 miles of main and collection pipe is in need of replacement or repair. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that the cost of investment to simply keep the system operating as it does today for the next 20 years will cost over $650 billion, and the American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that $1 trillion is needed over that same time frame.

The more a utility plans ahead, the more likely it will be able to meet these challenges. American Water utilizes a well-established capital planning process that is integrated with its asset management program to prepare for the future.