At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the water industry's ability to maintain high-quality, uninterrupted service became a primary example of public health protection. But for water and wastewater utilities, the challenges were more about managerial resilience. As essential businesses, utilities must remain open and fully operational, even under extraordinary circumstances, so improving business continuity should always be a priority.
Resilience promotes continuity, and augmenting resilience requires an all-hazards approach. Threats range from malevolent to natural and proximity hazards. But for business continuity, dependency hazards often dominate: transportation issues or loss of utilities, vendors, treatment chemicals, key employees.
A business continuity plan (BCP) ensures essential functions persist during and after an event. It preserves the utility's ability to acquire supplies, pay personnel, maintain records, and continue operations. According to the National Fire Protection Association's standard 1600 (Continuity, Emergency, and Crisis Management), a BCP is “an ongoing process to ensure that the necessary steps are taken to identify the impacts of potential losses and maintain viable recovery strategies and continuity of services.” A robust BCP includes strategic planning, emergency operations, prevention, mitigation, and recovery components.
BCPs must be tested and updated regularly to reflect organizational changes, emerging threats, and lessons learned. Exercises and trainings can help validate assumptions and build confidence. Establishing relationships with mutual aid organizations enhances resilience, and comparing experiences with peer utilities fosters best practices.
Business continuity planning also addresses gaps in emergency management systems, strengthening a utility's ability to serve during crises by reducing downtime and costs. It focuses on mission-critical functions—emergency repairs, fuel and chemical supply, security—all of which promote continuous improvement.
Although not focused on business continuity, AWWA's J100 standard (Risk and Resilience Management of Water and Wastewater Systems) provides a consensus standard for risk and resilience assessment, offering detailed guidance adaptable to any organizational risk. Incorporating these practices helps protect public health, safety, and the environment while ensuring water services remain uninterrupted—no matter the crisis. To ensure uniformity, BCPs should be integrated with emergency response, mitigation, and any other recovery plans as described in J100.
All organizations and businesses in the water industry should understand how they will maintain continuity across a wide range of challenges. If you are interested in submitting an article on business continuity or other topics important to the water industry, contact me at [email protected].
Novel adsorbents have demonstrated high adsorptive capacity in removing long-chain per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) without unwanted adsorption of organic carbon.
Removal of short-chain PFAS with these novel adsorbents was found to be limited, and further study of novel adsorbents with drinking water sources is needed.
Utilities will benefit from pilot testing in terms of understanding how PFAS treatment systems operate and adopting the best design.
Digital transformation in water and wastewater utilities is a historic process that marks a shift from human-centric decision-making to autonomous, computer-driven management enabled by digital twins.
By examining the progression of digital transformation, this article explores the historical context, defining characteristics, and key contributions of each phase to digital transformation.
Understanding the trajectory of digital transformation provides water professionals with a framework for navigating future technological advances while anticipating their challenges and opportunities to come.
京公网安备 11010802042870号
京ICP备2023020795号-1
扫码关注我们
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：