CHANGE AND CONSISTENCY: WHY THE FUTURE WILL BE DIFFERENT BUT THE SAME

摘要

Offering an opinion about the future is challenging without that perspective sounding overly pessimistic, fatalist, Utopian, or simply coming across like a naive piece of science-fiction. Nevertheless, the future will be at least partially shaped by those who aspire to improve our condition and those who believe that the future can be better than the present or the past. Consequently, the seeds of change are with us today and many incremental developments are already under way that will drive what the future holds. These developments include wider competition in water services, more meaningful engagement with customers to ensure that investment reflects their concerns and desires, and rapid growth in the utilisation of data technologies in water networks. But are there other challenges and opportunities which might herald more radical change?