A New Water Era?

Maybe each era of water seems complicated in its time. Things certainly seem complicated now. In fact, I think it is reasonable to believe we are entering a new water era, one that will need new responses, such as Water 2050's vision for creating a sustainable and resilient water future.

Interestingly, we are also at a historic moment when we can look back and recognize the 50th anniversary of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). The creation of the SDWA in 1974 started an amazing era for water, one that surely was, and is, complicated. The good news is that today, about two-thirds of the US population has never lived a day without the protections of the SDWA.

It makes sense that as we move from one era to another, the change brings with it uncertainty. That is a possible explanation for the three-year downward trend in the optimism chart included in AWWA's 2024 State of the Water Industry (SOTWI) report.

There are indicators other than just the dip in optimism that lead me to think a new era is upon us. For example, in the past decade, the SOTWI report's most cited challenge facing the water sector has been renewal and replacement of aging infrastructure. Not so now—it has dropped to the third position, and it has been replaced by watershed and source water protection—which made an unprecedented jump up from fifth position.

Maybe this is a one-year anomaly—certainly there is still a strong need for infrastructure replacement—or it may indicate a shifting focus from the built infrastructure to protecting the natural infrastructure. That shift seems logical to me given the growing concern and focus on such hazards as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), lead, and microplastics. All three of these have dominated the rankings in the SOTWI report for water quality concerns over the past three years—with PFAS consistently rated the highest since 2020.

This year the SOTWI survey introduced “financial sustainability” as an option for survey respondents, and they ranked it the fifth highest concern. That is a strong starting place. When coupling financial sustainability with financing capital improvements—which continues to be the second greatest concern facing the water sector—the two concerns ring the bell for stronger revenue streams going forward.

Of course, utility financial sustainability is directly related to setting water rates that cover the cost of water service. While this year's data show some improvement from 10 years ago, there is still more to accomplish. On the plus side, this year's survey shows that about 44% of utilities are very able or fully able to cover costs. On the negative side, however, one of every four utilities reports they are at best only slightly able to cover their costs, indicating the need to boost their rates and financial sustainability.

We cannot talk about rate increases without simultaneously acknowledging the challenges of affordability. It was not that long ago that water affordability was not much more than an academic discussion. Today it is rated as the 13th greatest concern in the SOTWI report. Certainly, the growing awareness and (more importantly) the positive steps taken by several organizations, including AWWA, to address water affordability signal movement into a new era.

The final indicator I will point to is the water sector's relationship with, and accelerating dependency on, digital solutions. As water systems become more and more dependent on digital solutions for their operations, they will need a workforce to support the technology. The 2024 SOTWI report signals that workforce challenges, the seventh greatest concern of survey respondents, are no longer about simply replacing an aging workforce but, more specifically, replacing the aging workforce with tech-savvy employees. This workforce transition is also anticipated in the Water 2050 recommendations for a sustainable and resilient water future. Of course, a technology world brings with it risks; as such, cybersecurity, the sector's 10th highest concern, is quickly becoming a standard, mission-critical function for water utilities. No question about it—above all, a digital water world is symbolic of a new water era.

I don’t think there is a bright line delineating different eras for water. Change mostly happens gradually, and then suddenly you realize things are different. That is why AWWA's SOTWI reports are so valuable. Each year, they point to the gradual change allowing us, over time, to see the big changes faster. It is also why the forward vision of the Water 2050 initiative is critical to charting the future of water and solving the challenges of this new era.

Let me be the first to welcome you to the new “Water 2050” era—it starts now. You can learn more about the SOTWI report at www.awwa.org/sotwi and Water 2050 at www.awwa.org/water2050.