It is so critical what we are doing. America is growing and our cities and communities need reliable water more than ever. We are working through a time where regular people are strained more than ever to afford their water bills but our physical infrastructure is more expensive than ever. 

In San Diego rates are rising 60% over the next 4 years to support their programs for a $5 billion Pure Water sewage recycling system and the $1 billion Advanced Water Purification program.

In Portland, the rates are rising 8.1% a year until 2030 because their Bull Run Filtration Plant is now projected to cost around $2.13 Billion, significantly above the original $500mm estimate in 2017.

In Houston, because of unsustainable waterline breaks and losing over 32 Billion gallons a year in leaks they are embarking on a aggressive $350mm a year pipeline replacement program

If we want to keep water Safe, Affordable, Abundant we have to leverage innovation and digital infrastructure to make every dollar count on the physical infrastructure side. 

Three goals we have for water: 

Abundant - enough for families and businesses to thrive

Safe - in our homes and our rivers

Affordable - under 2% of median household income

Thankfully, more and more utilities (including those above) are deploying digital infrastructure and the smart utility approach. This enables the utility to monitor performance and target the most critical areas of the system. 

Immokalee Water and Sewer District - Is leveraging traditional state funding sources for a $10,400,000 water metering and technology program.

North Miami Beach - Is moving forward with innovative digital solutions to bring performance driven approaches into utilities.

In case you missed it:

TAWWA - Southeast Chapter Annual Seminar

Andrew Swirsky attended the TAWWA - Southeast Chapter Annual Seminar, read about his insights: