Keywords
water industry
water workforce
water and wastewater degree
water security
How to Cite
Abstract
Water and wastewater industry leaders in Texas and throughout the United States have expressed concern over high rates of retirement eligibility and difficulties finding and attracting workers ready to fill job openings, especially for work in smaller systems. In late January 2018, the U.S. Government Accountability Office released a report on water workforce readiness and a bill was introduced in the U.S. Senate to establish a water infrastructure workforce development program. Concern over existing education of workers in water and demographic information projecting future workforce readiness are commonly cited as signaling a coming crisis for the water industry. An alignment of post-secondary training and industry needs is recommended to meet coming workforce employment requirements for Texas and the nation. A model post-secondary education pathway for water science and technology is described to support water workforce readiness.
Citation: Rosen RA, Cifuentes LA, Fischer J, Marquise H, Tracy JC. 2018. Water security for Texas: a post-secondary education pathway for water workforce readiness. Texas Water Journal. 9(1):120-128. Available from: https://doi.org/10.21423/twj.v9i1.7078.
References
[AWWA] American Water Works Association. 2013. 2013 State of the water industry report. Denver (Colorado): American Water Works Association.
[AWWA] American Water Works Association. 2014. 2014 State of the water industry report. Denver (Colorado): American Water Works Association.
[AWWA] American Water Works Association. 2015. 2015 State of the water industry report. Denver (Colorado): American Water Works Association.
[AWWA] American Water Works Association. 2016. 2016 State of the water industry report. Denver (Colorado): American Water Works Association.
[AWWA] American Water Works Association. 2017. 2017 State of the water industry report. Denver (Colorado): American Water Works Association.
Brueck T, Isbell M, O’Berry D, Brink P. 2010. Water sector workforce sustainability initiative. Denver (Colorado): Water Research Foundation and American Water Works Association.
(Clean Water Act) Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972, Pub. L. No. 92-500, 86 Stat. 816, codified as amended at 33 U.S.C. §§ 1251-1387 et. seq. (commonly referred to as the Clean Water Act).
[FWATF] Flint water advisory task force. 2016. Final report. Lansing (Michigan): State of Michigan. Available from: http://www.michigan.gov/documents/snyder/FWATF_FINAL_REPORT_21March2016_517805_7.pdf
Grigg N, Zenzen M. 2009. The water workforce: recruiting and retaining high-performance employees. Denver (Col¬orado): American Water Works Association.
Heard-Garris NJ, Roche J, Carter P, Abir M, Walton M, Zim¬merman M, Cunningham R. 2017. Voices from Flint: community perceptions of the Flint water crisis. Journal of Urban Health 94(6):776-779.
Kemp-Rye M. 2005. Planning for a changing workforce. National Environmental Services Center, On Tap 5(2):18- 3.
Mann J., Runge J. 2008. State of the industry report. Jour¬nal-American Water Works Association 100(10): 61-64, 66-68, 70-74.
Mohtar R, Rosen RA. 2015. Resource nexus: water, energy, food–water forum and technology roadmap. November 17-18, 2015 College Station (Texas): The Texas A&M University System. 42 p. Available from: http://libguides. tamusa.edu/ld.php?content_id=28446611
[PCAST] President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Tech¬nology. 2016. Report to the President: science and tech¬nology to ensure the safety of the nation’s drinking water. Washington (District of Columbia): President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology. 86 p. Available from: https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ostp/PCAST/pcast_drinking_water_final_ report_20161221.pdf
Rosen RA. 2014. Texas aquatic science. College Station (Tex¬as): Texas A&M University Press. 200 p.
Rosen RA. 2017. 2016 Texas water roadmap forum: workforce education, data, and research. Institute for Water Resourc¬es Science and Technology, Texas A&M University–San Antonio, San Antonio, Texas. 56 p. Available from: http:// libguides.tamusa.edu/ld.php?content_id=28446621
Rosen RA, Mohtar R, Cifuentes LA, Frayser S, Hustvedt G, Patrick W, Ragland C, Roberts SV, Vanegas J, Wall C, Wall J. 2017. The route to water security for Texas: the 2015– 2016 Texas water roadmap forums. Texas Water Journal 8(1):116-123.
[SFPUC] San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. 2012. 5-Year strategic plan for workforce reliability in operations. San Francisco (California): San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. 91 p.
Safe Drinking Water Act, Pub. L. No. 93-523 (1974), codified as amended at 42 U.S.C. §§ 300 et. seq.
[USGAO] U.S. Government Accountability Office. 2018. Water and wastewater workforce: recruiting approach¬es helped industry hire operators, but additional EPA guidance could help identify future needs, GAO-18-102. Washington (District of Columbia): United States Gov¬ernment Accountability Office. January 26, 2018. Avail¬able from: https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-18-102
[USS] U.S. Senate. 2018. To establish an innovative water infrastructure workforce development program, and for other purposes. S. 2346, 115th Congress. Available from: https://www.congress.gov/
Yessie S. 2012. Crisis overstated? Knowledge gaps and the aging water workforce [thesis]. [Waterloo (Ontario, Cana¬da)]: University of Waterloo.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2018 Rudolph A. Rosen, Luis A. Cifuentes, James Fischer, Howard Marquise, John C. Tracy