AWWA JAW55246

For the drinking water community, long-term water supply; distribution system repair, replacement, and rehabilitation; privatization; e-commerce; cross-connections; public perception; and, vulnerability to and security from terrorism are a few of the challenges that will redefine how our profession solves critical drinking water issues in the future. The important thing to remember is that opportunities are present in challenges. These opportunities will manifest as a result of the need for the water community to provide a higher level of service to consumers under more stringent conditions. Because more stringent and more comprehensive regulations will present additional cost burdens to the water community in the foreseeable future, a significant challenge will be to balance compliance mandates and control costs. These costs will have to be recovered in some form or other.