The recent water crisis in Flint, MI, that contaminated large segments of the water supply underlined the dire challenges facing the water infrastructure – not just in the US but worldwide.

Living in the US, most of us are very fortunate to have easy and plentiful access to clean and safe drinking water. While water scarcity and drought are significant challenges for a large number of developing countries, the US is also facing its own challenges regarding the supply of water.

The Flint crisis highlighted the dangers of an aging water infrastructure and irresponsible reaction by the local authorities. Another major water challenge is in California and the Western states. As in many countries, the problems with California’s water are that it is highly seasonal, highly variable, and poorly managed. The California State Water Project is the largest single user of energy in California, consuming 5 billion kWh per year, on average—more than 25% of the total electricity consumption for the entire state of New Mexico.

Many in the water industry have pointed to the lack of proper pricing of water as a factor that can lead to severe problems in the supply of water in the future. While some of these issues have been known for a while, not much has been done about addressing them.

In light of most of the challenges, the good news is that advances in technology have made it easier to get a lot more data to help with better decision making about water supply, quality, and use. The real challenge is to make long-term commitments promptly.

John Walsh, from Aquarion Corporation, will share his unique perspective as part of the panel on ‘Water  Challenges’ at the 2016 Leadership Conference. He brings a practical viewpoint on the role of pricing, policy, technology and water quality on water supply based on his experience at Aquarion which is the water supply company for parts of Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Hampshire.  Look out for further updates on challenges facing the water industry in future posts leading up to the conference.

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