The Aging Workforce Crisis in Municipal Utilities – And How Smart Systems Can Bridge the Gap

Across North America, municipal governments are quietly heading toward a workforce cliff—and nowhere is the impact more profound than in public utilities. Water, wastewater, and public works departments are increasingly staffed by individuals nearing retirement, many of whom hold decades of institutional knowledge that’s never been formally documented. The consequences of this demographic shift are becoming impossible to ignore.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly 30% of the water utility workforce is aged 55 and older. In Texas and other states where LSPS Solutions operates, the problem is especially acute in smaller municipalities, where one or two long-serving employees may be responsible for everything from backflow records to sewer line maps. When they leave, they don’t just take experience—they take the memory of how the city runs.

So what happens when that knowledge walks out the door?

The Consequences of an Aging Utility Workforce

The short-term effects include slower response times, increased errors, and a heavier workload on the remaining staff. But the long-term consequences can be even more disruptive: critical maintenance may fall through the cracks, regulatory compliance could be jeopardized, and the onboarding of new staff becomes costly and inefficient. Worse yet, these issues can lead to costly infrastructure failures and potential health risks to residents.

And unlike in the private sector, public utilities can’t always offer competitive wages or sign-on bonuses to quickly fill the void. Hiring takes time, and the labor pool for skilled trades—particularly those with water/wastewater licenses—is drying up.

Why Traditional Succession Planning Isn’t Enough

Many cities have attempted to address the issue through succession planning or knowledge-sharing initiatives. While these steps are valuable, they’re often reactive and limited in scope. Asking seasoned employees to train their replacements assumes two things: that there is a replacement and that there’s time to teach them.

Unfortunately, this is rarely the case. The transition is more often a scramble than a handoff. Even if written procedures exist, they’re typically scattered across notebooks, file cabinets, and outdated spreadsheets. Institutional knowledge—the kind that’s gained over 20 or 30 years of fieldwork—isn’t easily captured in a manual.

This is where smart systems come in.

How Smart Systems Can Capture, Preserve, and Replicate Knowledge

Smart systems don’t just automate tasks—they preserve human expertise in a scalable, searchable format. At LSPS Solutions, we’ve seen firsthand how technologies like AI, digital asset management platforms, and smart maintenance scheduling can transform a workforce challenge into an opportunity.

Here’s how:

1. Digital O&M Manuals

Instead of static PDFs or dusty binders, smart O&M (Operations & Maintenance) manuals can now live in dynamic digital platforms. These systems allow users to search for procedures, link to real-time asset data, and even include video walkthroughs recorded by current staff.

When paired with AI, these systems go beyond static documentation by delivering personalized, context-aware support. Field staff can ask natural language questions—like how to perform a task or when an asset was last serviced—and receive instant, accurate answers drawn from historical records and city-specific procedures. This dramatically reduces the learning curve and eliminates the need to rely on institutional memory or “the guy who’s been here 20 years.”

2. AI-Powered Compliance Tracking

Regulatory compliance is one of the most knowledge-intensive areas in municipal utilities. Missed deadlines, incomplete forms, or overlooked inspections can result in heavy fines. AI systems can now track deadlines, flag missing documentation, and even auto-generate reports based on real-time input from the field.

This doesn’t just prevent errors—it frees up human staff to focus on higher-value work, like planning and citizen engagement.

3. Automated Preventative Maintenance

Maintenance has historically relied on gut instinct or experience-based schedules. Smart systems now use sensor data and historical patterns to recommend maintenance tasks before issues arise. This extends the life of assets and eliminates the trial-and-error approach younger staff would otherwise be forced to take.

Even if a new hire has never replaced a valve or adjusted a pump setting, step-by-step guidance can now be embedded in the system—complete with photos, checklists, and past service logs.

4. AI Chat Assistants for Field and Office Staff

One of the most exciting innovations is the integration of conversational AI into municipal workflows. Imagine a new public works hire asking, “When was the last time this hydrant was flushed?” or “What’s the proper procedure for chlorine leak response?” and getting a reliable, policy-compliant answer instantly.

Instead of overwhelming new hires with binders and verbal instructions, smart assistants give them a sense of autonomy from day one. The system becomes a co-pilot—available 24/7.

Real Results: Small Towns, Big Impact

We can help cities with fewer than 5,000 residents implement systems like these, and the impact is immediate. Many Texas communities are facing the retirement of both its public works director and utility supervisor within the same year. By digitizing their infrastructure maps, converting their O&M guides into searchable formats, and building an AI knowledge base trained on city-specific procedures, the city can reduce onboarding time for new hires from six months to six weeks.

More importantly, the departing employees has peace of mind that their legacy—and their hard-won knowledge—would remain in use.

This Isn’t About Replacing People. It’s About Empowering Them.

Smart systems aren’t about removing the human element. They’re about making sure new employees, contractors, and even part-time staff can operate with confidence and accuracy—regardless of whether they’ve been on the job for 10 days or 10 years.

They’re also about improving morale. When staff feel supported by intuitive tools, they’re less likely to burn out, more likely to stay, and more able to provide quality service to residents.

Where to Start

If your city is concerned about pending retirements or struggling with knowledge loss, here are three steps to take:

1. Identify critical knowledge holders and document high-risk areas. Start with backflow records, lift stations, and regulatory procedures.

2. Digitize existing assets. This includes manuals, maps, logs, and inspection records—centralized in a cloud-based system.

3. Pilot a smart solution. Whether it’s AI-assisted documentation or interactive maintenance scheduling, start with one area and expand from there.

   
   

The workforce is aging—but your infrastructure doesn’t have to.