Report: Technology is evolving quickly, and the water and sewer sector needs to adapt

In an era marked by digitization and a changing environment, water and sewer organizations are facing a difficult future. To assist administrators as they plan for what’s next, the American Water Works Association published a report Thursday highlighting a need to accelerate innovation, transform services through next-generation technology, leverage tech as an equalizer, and “achieve a secure cyber future.”

“It is our responsibility as water professionals and technology innovators to chart a course for a successful and sustainable future,” said Chi Ho Sham, president of the American Water Works Association and a member of the Water 2050 Leadership Team, which created the report. “By collaborating with influential thinkers from within and beyond the traditional water community, we will be better positioned to harness transformational new technologies and approaches, and at the same time, mitigate unintended consequences.”

The report, “Water 2050 Technology Think Tank Report,” envisions what the industry will look like in 2050 and charts a sustainable path forward. It was created by 26 industry participants during a three-day workshop in December, including “highly respected voices from the water and wastewater utility, manufacturing and consulting community, innovation incubators, Silicon Valley thought leaders, privacy and cybersecurity experts, regulators and academics,” the statement says. A previous report from the initiative focused on sustainability, and future reports will consider economics, governance, and demographics. 

Over the next three decades, the report predicts water will become “the most salient environmental and social” issue. Debate will center around access, management, and whether it’s safe, affordable, and accessible. Lack of water, its cleanliness and other water issues will detrimentally impact economies, force migration, and drive technological innovation.

To address these impending needs, the report says innovation needs to be accelerated. Technology can be leveraged to meet technical needs, create efficiencies and enhance equality of access. There’s potential to streamline industry norms through innovations including artificial intelligence, real-time monitoring, and in-home treatment technologies.

“Over time, the increased levels of automation in source water, treatment, distribution and collection systems will generate a significant amount of data to improve operational efficiency and services provided to water service customers,” the report says. “While technology will make data collection easier, the water community has a profound obligation to properly curate and protect consumer information. Data can strengthen or destroy public trust in water services and quality.”

To that end, investment needs to be incentivized to pull more organizations on board. Meanwhile, the workforce must become tech savvy, and consumers need to be empowered with real-time information. Cyber measures must also evolve to keep up with risks as everything becomes more digitized. 

“The cyber threat domain is already global in nature, and malevolent actors are capable of negatively impacting computer-driven water operations and accessing critical data from foreign and domestic locations,” the report says. “By 2050, the democratization of technology will require universal cyber risk management in a way that scales to water systems of all sizes and is affordable to all communities.”

In the effort to modernize the water and sewer industry, there are major hurdles that need to be overcome—namely, a conservative approach to innovation. Given that a core mission of the water sector is the protection of public health, innovation is traditionally stymied in favor of tried and true measures, and a conservative approach to change.

This leads to a “‘race for second’ in the implementation of new and innovative technologies,” the report says. “While risk aversion, limited resources, and process challenges have been identified as common barriers to innovation, the most significant barrier is based in utility culture. Success of the water community in 2050 will be dependent, in part, on the adoption and advancement of new technologies.”

To overcome this barrier, leveraging emerging water and sewer technology—like sensors, real time monitoring, and artificial intelligence—to “de-risk” innovation presents a path forward.