What a Monster!

Abstract

The water industry is working to improve communications by focusing on messaging that enhances public confidence in our water systems, yet it often seems like an uphill battle. While safe, reliable water supplies are available to a great majority in North America, it's understood that there are still some systems that struggle. But while these communities and governments have a lot of work to do to, the approach of broadly attacking tap water doesn't help those struggling systems, and only harms the overall perception of a sector that is pretty successful. As a recent example, the US federal government proposed efforts to ensure clean, safe drinking water for all communities by replacing the nation's lead pipes and service lines and upgrading its water systems. This mission is fantastic and commendable—I just wish the administration didn't start their messaging by broadly stating, “Across the country, pipes and treatment plants are aging and polluted drinking water is endangering public health.” The message starts off focusing correctly on the assets that need to be better managed, but it leaves out the crucial connection to the policies behind them, jumping right to an image of a drinking water monster that's threatening the public. But where water infrastructure is made into a monster like this, I think the unfortunate victim is our broader perception of safe drinking water. Bad water services are monstrous, but the water itself is more like Dr. Frankenstein's creation, innocent to start but suffering from another's decisions and actions. In fact, in this famous story by Mary Shelley, the “monster” laments, “Of my creation and creator I was absolutely ignorant, but I knew that I possessed no money, no friends, no kind of property. I was, besides, endued with a figure hideously deformed and loathsome. . . .” We can't shy away from our challenges, and while struggling water systems need support to ensure they're not making “monsters,” we also need to better communicate our industry's strengths and successes. It takes great talent and accountability to make a water system work well, but it also takes great talent to strengthen a community's connection to its water and the systems behind the services. Vilifying water won't stop any time soon, so in addition to helping every system succeed, water professionals must ensure the public knows its water is safe so that no one sees a water monster when they open their tap. This issue of Journal AWWA features an interview with the A.P. Black Research Award winner Dr. Issam Najm, with additional feature articles spotlighting bench-scale, pilot-scale, and full-scale research. Please consider sharing your perspectives and experiences with water professionals across the globe by writing me at journaleditor@awwa.org.