The economy certainly has presented plenty of challenges to our industry in 2011.
To get a better understanding of the issues the water and wastewater industry faces today, Water & Wastes Digest recently conducted its annual State of the Industry survey.
A group of randomly selected readers was asked to identify some of the biggest challenges that water and wastewater facilities will face in the upcoming year. The majority of industry professionals said that compliance with state and federal regulations, followed by funding and weak economic growth, are among their greatest concerns. Complete survey results are featured in WWD’s December Reference Guide issue.
Since the enactment of the Safe Drinking Water Act, public water systems have been required to meet extensive regulations. In addition to more than 90 regulated water contaminants, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency continues to review pending regulations for new contaminants. While these efforts assure high-quality water supplies, there are a variety of obstacles to complying with existing and upcoming regulations, with lack of funding topping the list.
To gain a better understanding on these important issues, WWD would like to invite water and wastewater facility managers to share how your facilities handle funding challenges. Please e-mail us your comments at [email protected].