I sympathize with water and wastewater utilities. Tasked with more responsibility than ever, too often they aren’t supported with the necessary financial resources. To draw a baseball analogy, apropos for this time of year, it's like trying to win the World Series with minimal payroll (capital improvement funds) and old, broken-down players (infrastructure).
When the time comes, will you be ready?
Are you prepared to keep services up and running if the grid goes down?
The Twitterverse is as big as you want it to be. You can follow 10,000 people or just 10. If you prefer economy yet want to stay informed on water issues, you need to separate the wheat from the chaff, or the substantive from the frivolous.
You may have seen the recent poll results announced by the Value of Water Coalition indicating near universal agreement (95 percent) on the need for reliable water systems, along with the somewhat surprising fact that a majority (60 percent) would agree to higher water bills to support them. The real surprise, however, is who is willing to pay the most.
No business wants the word "toxic" associated with its operations. The world has grown very weary (and wary) of companies that aren't environmentally responsible. So while toxic wastewater as a byproduct of mining, oil refining, or other industrial processes isn't new, the impetus to treat these streams is steadily rising.
How much pipeline repair will competing priorities, resource limitations, and public tolerance allow? Try 1 percent annually — if you're as good as DC Water. CEO and General Manager George Hawkins shares advice that has helped his utility double the national average for pipeline replacement.
Unlike Hollywood, big-budget projects are hard to come by in public works. So when it comes to stormwater, the community relies on the combined efforts from an ‘ensemble’ cast of characters to help prevent pollution — as seen on StormTV.
Three key events from 2015 could reshape the water/wastewater industry in 2016 and for years to come.
An important part of public safety is the application of sodium chloride — road salt, rock salt, ice melt, etc. — to reduce slippery conditions on roads, parking lots, and sidewalks. But there is a downside to the liberal application of road salt: it eventually ends up in waterways and groundwater, affecting ecosystems and water quality.
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