The Challenges and Opportunities of a Changing Customer Base

This article is part of a continuing series that draws on the findings from a recently completed strategic assessment of the future of water utilities funded by the AWWA Research Foundation and nine participating utilities (see “Meeting the Future Head On” in Manager to Manager, July 2001). The project team worked in conjunction with water industry leaders to identify internal and external trends expected to influence the water industry, develop a set of scenarios for the operating environment that water utilities might face in the future, and identify the attributes of the successful utility of the future. This article explores how residential customers 20 to 25 years in the future may be different from those of today. Some of the challenges and opportunities that these changes will create for water utilities are also discussed.