Full Description

The State of the Industry (SOTI) survey, now in itsfourth year, has compiled a wealth of trending data onthe water industry. These data, reflecting input fromutility representatives, service providers, and other professionalsacross the United States and Canada, help illuminatethe water industry's current and future concerns.The 2007 survey results indicated that the industryworkforce and the sustainability of its human resourceswas a prime concern for many respondents. Althoughthe workforce had already established a profile as along-term concern, this year the category rose to thefifth spot on the list of near-term critical issues.By highlighting current and emerging concerns aswell as inadequately addressed issues, the SOTI surveyhelps ensure that water professionals have thetools and strategies they need in order to meet thechallenges ahead. The top five critical issues identified by the survey include: regulatory factors including concerns about the scientificbasis for new regulations andthe value of new regulations relativeto their cost; source water supply and protection centering on ensuring adequate quantitiesof treatable water supplies forgrowing needs and protecting watersources; business factors such as the expense and financingof infrastructure replacement andthe imbalance between the cost ofdelivering quality water service andthe rates that can be charged; aging water supply infrastructure, the prospect of its failure, cross-connection concerns, waterleakage and accounting, and waterstorage; and, workforce issues such as replacementof aging workers, difficulty inrecruiting qualified new or replacementworkers, and overall trainingof the workforce to meet increasingsophistication in water operations. Includes tables, figures.

Product Details

Edition: Vol. 99 - No. 10 Published: 10/01/2007 Number of Pages: 11 File Size: 1 file , 1.3 MB