SC Environmental Conference – Meeting Today’s Challenges, Preparing for Tomorrow

Just got back from the South Carolina Environmental Conference, our local WEA/AWWA conference.  It was great meeting again with peers, catching up on what is happening in their areas, what projects they are working on.  But what I found most helpful was meeting and talking with water and wastewater treatment plant operators, engineers and administrators.  Listening to their concerns for emerging pollutants, or the stormwater regulations, or leak detection and repair, or any of a dozen or more real concerns drove home that these dedicated professionals need our help.

We all know the importance of water, how it drives our economy.  But we as an industry are still largely invisible.  And that is hurting the ability of our utilities to raise rates to meet the needs of an aging infrastructure.  I heard of the need to be able to economically assess and prioritize repairs and upgrades because, let's face it, there just isn't the money to do everything that needs to be done at once.  I heard about the importance of energy efficiency, of developing smarter, better ways of monitoring and managing energy consumption.  I heard a lot about the double edged sword of conservation, which postpones expansions but also cuts into current revenues.  I heard real concerns about how climate change may make managing their utilities even more challenging in the future, and how they believe they don't have the tools to adequately prepare for those shifts.

In short, we face a lot of challenges in our industry, as these utilities on the front lines try to meet the shifting needs of their communities, in many cases with inadequate resources.  But with challenges come opportunities.

I also got a chance to visit with many of the equipment representatives, learn what new advances their companies were making to try to assist these utilities in meeting that uncertain future.  There is a lot of great work going on to make our treatment plants more energy efficient, make monitoring and reporting more streamlined, and give these utilities the tools they need to continue to provide reliable service well into the future.

I came home with a renewed sense of purpose and dedication, to help get the word out about these advances and to let these front line utilities know that their needs are being heard.  Ours is a truly GREAT and unsung story that is the very foundation of our society and economy.  We have much to be proud of as we look forward to meeting the challenges of the future.