And so operating, maintaining, and upgrading those systems is very, very challenging. The actual infrastructure that moves water within the urban environment is very, very old-in some places it’s well over 100 years old. How well equipped is the infrastructure of the water utility system to handle these changes? So the water utility industry must figure out a way to become more responsive to these various crises and risks that they face on a day-to-day operational basis. The customer base has also become increasingly aware, and is asking a lot more questions, wanting more transparency from the utility industry. Unlike electric grids, which can have brownouts and blackouts, a water utility system can never go offline.īut now there are the added challenges of climate change, significant economic swings, changes in water-use patterns, increasing water-quality concerns-all those types of concerns. In this country, water supply is a 24/7 activity. The water utility industry has always dealt with risk-primarily because of the public health requirement for safe, high-quality drinking water.
What trends and challenges do you see in the water utility industry today? Alison Adams, Chief Technology Officer at INTERA, a geoscience and engineering company with a background in water resource problems, about the challenges facing an aging water utility infrastructure, the need for data analytics, and how digital transformation can lead to the sustainability and resiliency we expect from a system that provides such a crucial resource to us all.
Much like the smart factory or Industry 4.0, water utilities need to undergo a digital transformation to ensure the safety and efficiency of their operations.
But the mechanics of what happens under the sink, within the pipes, beneath the level of the street, is complex, antiquated, regulated-even politicized. Access to clean, safe drinking water is something most of us expect without thinking too much about it.
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