In Pennsylvania, there is growing concern about the number of water-treatment plant operators approaching retirement age and the shortage in personnel that will result.  This trend was predicted in 2015 in a report by the state Department of Environmental Protection, the report warning that a “scarcity of younger operators and the potential retirement of a large pool of older operators in the coming years may jeopardize the statewide pool of qualified operators.”[1] According to 2015 figures, less than three percent of drinking water and wastewater operators were under the age of 30, and the DEP report highlighted that the number […]

As it is in so many localities across the county, the cost of water and sewer are taking a greater percentage of people’s income.  In Cleveland, rates have continued to climb until the area has the distinction of having “the highest water and sewer rates of the six largest cities in the Great Lakes Region.”[1] The increased sewage rates are the result of projects with high price tags that will address the dual issues of aging infrastructure and improvements mandated by the federal government to reduce the pollutants flowing into Lake Erie.  To address the federal consent decree, Project Clean […]

Seth Lanciani recently joined SW’s business development and marketing team as a Business Development Specialist. A graduate of Methodist University in Fayetteville, North Carolina, Seth received his degree in Business Administration and has a strong background in analytics, business strategy, and marketing. In addition to playing an integral role in SW’s preliminary client outreach and project initiation, Seth will support company marketing needs. Seth has a passion for critically analyzing problems and providing solutions for optimal business performance. With SW, Seth looks forward to continuing the water reuse messaging to clients across the country and to creating a better, more […]

The importance of water to the food industry cannot be overstated, and as risk associated with water becomes more widespread, it is gaining the attention of industry investors.  Food and agriculture production use the largest share of the world’s freshwater resources (estimated at 70 percent).  Consequently, those companies must consider and plan for water risk and its potential impact on both production and profits. In a 2017 report by Ceres, a sustainability nonprofit organization, and a follow-up to a report released in 2015, the organization evaluated ways in which 42 food and beverage companies were dealing with water risk in […]

In 2013, Chris Long, defensive end with the Philadelphia Eagles, went to Tanzania to climb Mount Kilimanjaro and afterward, he ran into Joe Buck and Doug Pitt in a hotel bar.  Pitt, Brad Pitt’s brother and the Goodwill Ambassador to Tanzania, along with Buck had gone to Tanzania to build a sustainable water well as part of the initiatives of WorldServe International, an organization dedicated to bringing clean water to East African countries.  According to the Waterboys.org website, their discussion focused on the issue of water scarcity and by the time Long returned home, he had made the decision to […]