By Kristy Neckowicz Recently one of our clients, an engineering director of a major water utility, made a bold claim when she stated, “Against the will of every engineer, their job needs them to also be an accountant.” I’d argue that the same applies for everyRead More

By Ian MacLeod It doesn’t matter which came first — chickens, eggs, farmers or consumers. When water scarcity is involved, all parties are interdependent. Limiting agricultural or industrial water use in favor of residential use does a community no good if the local economy cannot supportRead More

Municipal pipe market spend makes up 30 percent of overall utility CAPEX for water infrastructure. In part, to address aging pipes, bursts, and other leakage management issues, the pipe market is turning to new materials (plastic) and new technologies (trenchless). More than $234 billion (USD)Read More

By Megan Glover In October 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its long-awaited proposed revisions to the existing Lead and Copper Rule (LCR). The proposal would update the original 1991 rule, change the current standards and add several new responsibilities for water utilitiesRead More

By Glenn Barnes Water systems exist to serve their communities. But do the water system’s rate structure, prices, and policies align with community values? The annual rate process is an opportunity to measure this. Every year, water systems should calculate the annual cost of providingRead More

By Dan Pinney Non-revenue water (NRW) is a longstanding issue that continues to be a thorn in the side of many utilities. For decades, utilities have struggled with 20-30 percent water loss due to leaks, emergencies or other factors. NRW can impact the utility’s businessRead More

By Greg Quist Stormwater and sanitary sewer systems may be some of the least technologically sophisticated systems in the utility’s arsenal. Most often, these systems are gravity-based and out of sight. As a result, operational assessments are limited to the occasional visual inspection when anRead More

By Erica Brown The managers of two large utilities recently remarked to me that in recent discussions with bond rating agencies, the questions that arose about climate change dove much deeper than in recent memory. In both cases, rating agencies wanted to know specifically aboutRead More

By John Fillinger The previous decade saw the introduction and growth of smart water advancements in the water metering industry. Technologies such as LTE, IoT and advanced communications systems, have allowed water utilities around the world, and especially in the United States, to improve controlRead More