txH2O Summer 2019
Water Utilities Challenges
10 Challenges of Water Utilities
One million miles of pipes deliver drinking water across the country, according to the American Society of Civil Engineers’ (ASCE) 2017 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, and many of those pipes are in need of modern-day upgrades.
When Kathleen Jackson was first appointed to the three-member Texas Water Development Board (TWDB), she asked her three adult children — sixth-generation Texans — what they thought people across Texas most wanted to know about water.
Two Texas water utilities, in cities miles apart and geographically different, rely on similar and diversified water management strategies to supply enough water to their growing populations.
The water and wastewater industry is seeing a decline in workers throughout the nation. To help fill the gap in the Texas’ workforce, Texas A&M University-San Antonio (A&M-SA) and Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (TEEX), an agency of the Texas A&M University System, have created educational pathways to work toward closing the workforce gap.
Almost 6,000 Texas public water utility systems serve populations of 3,000 or smaller. Supplying around 3.2 million people with water, they encounter unique, important challenges that their larger counterparts don’t necessarily face.
Until 2009, a small city in the Texas Hill Country was faced with a large water problem. It found a way to solve the challenge, winning one of Texas’ highest environmental awards along the way.
Smart cities use different types of electronic sensors and technology to collect data, allowing the more efficient management of assets and resources.
One city department in particular can benefit from these efficiency-improving tools: the water department.
A growing population combined with aging infrastructure and new water treatment technologies are challenges water utilities all across the country face. Many times resolving those concerns comes down to money.
In 2008, Dickie Clary from the small Central Texas town of Hamilton attended the first Texas Watershed Planning Short Course at the Mayan Dude Ranch in Bandera, Texas. The 4 1/2 day course, hosted by the Texas Water Resources Institute (TWRI), provided Clary and other attendees essential information for managing water quality throughout the state.
