For many years, water and wastewater services were out of sight. However, in recent years rising rates and affordability concerns, increasing capital costs for the repair and replacement of aging infrastructure, climate chance, drought, and water quality regulations have all brought water and wastewater to the forefront of the public eye. Today’s drinking water and clean water utilities must meet these challenges while providing high quality services at an affordable price, meeting customer service level expectations, and maintaining the financial sustainability of the organization. We help utilities navigate these challenges under the increased attention and scrutiny of a more informed, active, and vocal community.
Infrastructure is essentially a series of complex, valuable parts, or assets, and systems that relate in such a way as to provide the services necessary to sustain life, economy, and community. Once those assets are defined, an organization must next understand the condition of those assets and the level of service they are expected to perform. This can then inform investment, maintenance, and operational decisions.
The highest priority that all water utilities share is the critical responsibility of providing safe and reliable drinking water to the residents and businesses they serve. Forecasting the expected quantity of water that will be needed over the long term is an important aspect of managing water resources responsibly, particularly for areas experiencing significant changes in customer growth and behavior. Raftelis recently partnered with Seattle Public Utilities to develop a new tool that can be used to inform the long-term projection of water use.
The issue of PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), often referred to as “forever chemicals,” has gained national attention due to recent regulatory actions by the EPA. These developments have placed PFAS at the forefront of capital planning for many utilities and local governments.
