Water industry

Key takeaways

Water industry belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Water industry to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Water industry from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The water industry provides drinking water and wastewater services (including sewage treatment) to residential, commercial, and industrial sectors of the economy. Typically, public utilities operate water supply networks. The water industry does not include manufacturers and suppliers of bottled water, which is part of the beverage production and belongs to the food sector. The water industry includes water engineering, operations, water and wastewater plant construction, equipment supply and specialist water treatment chemicals, among others. The water industry is at the service of other industries, e.g. of the food sector which produces beverages such as bottled water.

Organizational structure There are a variety of organizational structures for the water industry, with countries usually having one dominant traditional structure, which usually changes only gradually over time.

Ownership of water infrastructure and operations local government – the most usual structure worldwide, public utility national government – in many developing countries, especially smaller ones private ownership – more common in the developed world, see for example Water privatisation in England and Wales co-operative ownership and related NGO structures, public utility

Operations local government operating the system through a municipal department, municipal company, or inter-municipal company local government outsources operations to private sector, i.e. private water operators national government operations private water operators own the system BOTs – private sector building parts of a water system (such as a wastewater treatment plant) and operating it for an agreed period before transferring to public sector ownership and operation. cooperation and NGO operators

Functions Integrated water system (water supply, sewerage (sanitation) system, and wastewater treatment) Separation by function (e.g. Dutch system where sewerage run by city, water supply by municipal or provincial companies, and water treatment by water boards), though some Water Supply Companies have merged beyond municipal or provincial borders. Other separation (e.g. Munich, separated into three companies for bulk water supply, water and wastewater network operations, and retail)

Standards Water quality standards and environmental standards relating to wastewater are usually set by national bodies.

In England, the Drinking Water Inspectorate and the Environment Agency. In the United States, drinking water standards for public water systems are set by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) pursuant to the Safe Drinking Water Act. EPA issues water pollution control standards in conjunction with state environmental agencies, pursuant to the Clean Water Act. For countries within the European Union, water-related European Union directives are important for water resource management and environmental and water quality standards. Key directives include the Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive 1992 requiring most towns and cities to treat their wastewater to specified standards, and the Water Framework Directive 2000, which requires water resource plans based on river basins, including public participation based on Aarhus Convention principles. International Standards (ISO) on water service management and assessment are under preparation within Technical Committee ISO/TC 224.

Global companies Using available data only, and during 2009–2010, the ten largest water companies active globally were (largest first): Veolia Environnement (France), Suez Environnement (France), ITT Corporation (US), United Utilities (UK), Severn Trent (UK), Thames Water (UK), American Water Works Company (US), GE Water (US), Kurita Water Industries (Japan), Nalco Water (US).

See also American Water Works Association – North American industry and standards association for drinking water Imagine H2O – International accelerator and organization for water technology startups Millennium Development Goals – goal 7 of the MDGs aimed to "reduce by half the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water" National Rural Water Association – Industry association supporting small and rural water and wastewater utilities in the United States. Water Environment Federation – Professional association for ambient water quality research and pollution control

References

External links Truth from the Tap "Water Industry Facts" Water Industry Facts - Truth from the Tap Archived 2020-11-01 at the Wayback Machine Lowi, Alvin Jr. Avoiding the Grid: Technology and the Decentralization of Water WaterWorld Magazine (see Water & Wastewater Industry Report e-newsletter) Global Water Intelligence Industrial WaterWorld Water & Wastewater International Water Procurement Portal National Association of Clean Water Agencies Industrial Doctorate Centre for the Water Sector "Water Industry Journal".

Illustrations

Water industry: Drinking water — Drinking water

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Water industry

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Water industry claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Water industry before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Water industry ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Water industry

In research: Water industry appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Water industry in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Water industry is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Hydrology, Industries (economics), Sewerage, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Water industry outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study Water industry in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Water industry means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Water industry out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Water industry in simple terms?

The water industry provides drinking water and wastewater services (including sewage treatment) to residential, commercial, and industrial sectors of the economy. Typically, public utilities operate water supply networks.

Why does Water industry matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Water industry?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Water industry.