By Dawn Kristof
"It is important to understand what utilities are seeing, in order to anticipate how it will affect your businesses in the future," remarked Ed Means of McGuire Environmental Consultants before an audience of water and wastewater equipment manufacturers and their representatives at the opening session of WWEMA's 94th Annual Meeting. His presentation was a highlight at this year's event, which had as its theme, "Global Leadership".
Means spoke of the global trends occurring in society, the business world, and within the water industry itself, and described the opportunities they present to companies serving the water and wastewater markets. His findings were captivating – if not at times overwhelming – and his strategies for succeeding in these extraordinary times were equally compelling.
The following represents noteworthy highlights from his presentation
Population / Demographics
In the past 50 years, the world has experienced an unprecedented increase in population growth, having surpassed the 6 billion mark, and growing by 230,000 people a day. This is placing greater stresses on water quality and quantity. People in developed nations are expected to live an extra 20 years of fully functional existence, affecting our nation's economic potential as it reshapes job demand. The expanding senior population with greater sensitivities to health and environmental concerns will be politically active and could have an influential voice on water-related policies.
Water Use
According to the Worldwatch Institute, the amount of water available per person from the hydrologic cycle will fall by 73% between 1950 and 2050 as population continues to grow. This will drive the demand for water recycling, desalination, conservation and conjunctive use. Complicating matters is the issue of endangered species, with 35% of aquatic species in the U.S. currently endangered, making siting of new plants extremely challenging. Global warming is a reality and one largely unconsidered by U.S. water utilities. Droughts, floods and rising sea levels will continue to affect water quality and availability.
Human Resources
Between 1996 and 2008, the demand for engineers will grow by a staggering 67.5% (from 28,089 positions in 1996 to 47,052 positions in 2008). Taking into account that over the past 15 years the number of students graduating with a bachelors degree in engineering has dropped 50% to 12,400, a greater focus will need to be placed on generating job loyalty and attracting retirees into rejoining the workforce.
Technology
Technology is evolving at a staggering rate. Computer speeds of up to 10GHz are predicted for the future. As computing power rises and costs drop, it will drive automation and help offset increased labor costs and manpower shortages. Our analytical ability to measure contaminants will increase by an order of magnitude over the next 10-15 years.
Consumers
The 2001 National Consumer Water Quality Survey indicated that 86% of the respondents have concerns about their water, 51% worry about possible health contaminants, and 49% said federal water quality laws are not strict enough (only 4% feel they are). Another survey found that 40% of respondents were unsatisfied with the information they receive on drinking water quality. Waning consumer confidence is further evidenced by a 12.8% annual growth in bottled water sales since 1996. Balancing the need to better communicate to the public in order to build consumer confidence while maintaining a heightened security profile will be a major challenge facing utility managers.
Infrastructure
The nation's water and wastewater infrastructure is deteriorating at a faster pace than investments. By 2016, greater than 50% of sewer pipes will be in poor to very poor condition or broken, as compared to 8% in 2000. R&D for water purification technologies is one-half 1970's level. A significant funding gap between needs and spending could develop if the nation's clean water and drinking water systems maintain current spending and operations practices.
Competition
Outsourcing and design/build contracts are expected to continue to grow, driven in large part by local economic and political conditions. Competitive pressures will continue to be placed on public utilities to find ways to save money.
He concluded his presentation with a plethora of insightful recommendations geared toward the water utility sector, but applicable to all interests serving the water and wastewater industry. Among the 10 most notable in the writer's opinion are:
• Characterize the costs and value of water and aggressively convey that information to stakeholders.
• Develop watershed-based resource management approaches.
• Evaluate multi-quality tiered potable delivery and treatment systems.
• Create demand management / conservation / reuse programs using rate-based incentives to manage water supply demands.
• Maintain oversight of water in public sector but accommodate private sector.
• Consider changes in federal law and other policies to attract capital and explore private investment where needed.
• Develop an aggressive program to recruit/retain staff, including competitive compensation packages and creative incentives.
• Move from risk avoidance to risk management.
• Build alliances and support to change social attitudes towards the value of water!
These and other water quality trends can be found on his company's website at: www.safedrinkingwater.com.
About the author: Dawn Kristof is President of the Water and Wastewater Equipment Manufacturers Association. WWEMA was established as a national trade organization in 1908 and represents the interests of the nation's leading producers of water and wastewater technologies used in municipal and industrial applications worldwide.
