Municipal water delivery systems around the world range from the rudimentary to the mind-bendingly complex. And their customers regard the water those systems deliver as either rare, precious and costly or overabundant to the point of inconsequence and cheap. But although many users take the water delivery systems themselves for granted, when they fail, perform badly or their managers seek funds to improve, many ratepayers can be counted upon to howl in complaint.
Water-system managers walk a tightrope between the imperative to deliver reliably clean water and limit harm during emergencies and the need to improve reliability and expand systems to support economic growth—all without hiking water rates.