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Water utilities are constantly planning for future growth and demands that will mostcertainly tax their existing potable water systems. In this regard, it is not only important to planfor future growth by acquiring additional water supplies, but to also take a hard look at thelocation, redundancy, and diversification of said supplies. Managing a water utility is much likemanaging a prudent mutual fund for investors. The goal should be to maintain consistent growthwith reasonable risk, all the while ensuring the success of the client. For water utilities, however,the client is the city or political subdivision being served, and the "reasonable risk" means beingalways able to maintain constant service. Indeed, notwithstanding political pressures from thelocal community, many water utilities even have a statutory obligation to provide such guaranteeof continuous and adequate service. There are many reasons that utilities should consider diversifying their water supplies.Droughts may reduce surface water and groundwater supplies. Environmental regulations mayunexpectedly impact water supplies. Hurricanes and other natural disasters may cause systemsto fail. And business decisions and/or legal positions may dictate moving away from one sourceof supply in favor of another. The paper discusses further examples of these types of reasons, along with diversification options such as: surface water resources; groundwater resources; conservation; direct reuse of reclaimed water; indirect reuse of reclaimed water; aquifer storage and recovery (ASR); and, desalination. The Texas Regional Water Planning Process and collaboration of regional entities are discussed. Several brief examples of case studies are included on topics that include: minimizing drought impacts; addressing reservoir contamination; using ASR to alleviate peaking costs; and, maximizing reclaimed water supplies.

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Edition: Vol. - No. Published: 06/01/2006 Number of Pages: 7File Size: 1 file , 290 KB