BEECHER - NAWC

Water ComparedStructural Changernumber of investor-owned electric utilities declined from 282 to 244; the number of majorinvestor-owned utilities declined from 182 to 179. 23Although the water and wastewater industries as a whole employ a much smaller workforce,they appear to be the only public utilities for which clear and steady growth can be detected.The 1986 Safe Drinking Water Act may have triggered the upward slope in employment; timewill tell whether the 1996 Act will have a comparable effect.On the other hand, the quest for efficiency in the water sector also has the potential tosuppress labor force growth to some extent. Consolidation and automation, for example, canhelp utilities reduce labor costs. The desire to streamline the workforce also has been a keyrationale for privatization in the water and wastewater sectors.1,200Employment by Utility Sector(1947 to 1997). ··--·- ··- ... -- --- ----~- ---~000-~800c:Q)E>-00..EQ)1,000__ _ _ _--·-· -600 -----·---------··---·-400 +--·-··- ---+-Telephone---Electric--o- Combinationutilities2000-:;:::::::ueeau:m::::::::::::::~:;:::::»•t-+-- Natural gas--water andwastewaterNote: Legends correspond to end-year graph values from top to bottom.23Ibid.NAWC66 September 1998