Terms of remediation must be carefully spelled out in legal and financial terms. Urban authorities must be sure that essential skills and equipment can be regained quickly if the terms of the contract are not fulfilled. A fourth concern is the possible loss of openness and transparency of utility policies and practices. Deliberations of public bodies are subject to numerous “sunshine” provisions that require open meetings and records. Once a private firm assumes operations, it is no longer clear that business practices and accounts will be open to the public.

Louis had reached about 6,000, and its water supply was primarily from springs and cisterns (Schworm, 1968). The city of St. Louis signed a contract with a Mr. Wilson and a Mr. Fox to “build and conduct water works supplying clarified water” to private citizens at $20 per year for a residence and at $100 per year for hotels and factories. In addition, after 25 years the “works” were to belong to the city of St. Louis. Unfortunately, Wilson and Fox were unable to borrow the necessary capital to perform the contract, and in 1831 the city took over the project and built its own water system, which became operational in 1835.

3 Forces of Change in the Water Service Industry W ater and wastewater utilities in the United States provide safe, reliable, and economical service as measured by any comparative standard of performance. The nation’s water infrastructure has benefited greatly from long-term investments in water systems and the adoption of new wastewater standards with accompanying financial assistance. S. water service systems are based on historically conservative approaches to design and construction that, when combined with the current political aversion to long-term investments in infrastructure, have created some resistance to change.