On matters of sustainability, the complement to resilient recovery is adaptive adjustment. Many of the water industry's efforts focus on a system's ability to maintain services and recover from disruptions, but just as important are efforts to understand when and how to change things when situations fall unexpectedly outside of the norm.

All things considered, the water industry has proved extremely resilient to the challenges of the latest pandemic, and it has also shown remarkable adaptivity. Even while COVID‐19 shut down some sectors, safe water continued to reach the homes and businesses that rely on it. As the pandemic disrupted normal operations, it was great to see how quickly water systems adapted, both accommodating work at home and instituting procedures that protect those who cannot. In many cases, financial accommodations have been made with customers struggling with job loss or diminished business to try to help them, at least in the near term.

Even as the pandemic continues, other challenges still face the water industry—floods, droughts, aging infrastructure, communication—so it's important for water professionals to maintain skills that include flexibility and resourcefulness, the foundations of adaptive adjustment. We must ensure that water and wastewater systems respond effectively in the face of potential disruptions, but even more, that the people operating and guiding those systems understand system limits, their personal limits, and when and where to begin exploring potential options when things need to change.

Most of the time, changes in the water industry are slow, on the order of years to decades. In some cases, like the phaseout of lead pipe, it can seem to take a lifetime. Adaptability comes to bear on the management side of things, especially in communicating serious issues, because while the pipes in the ground typically stay the same, the mindset of consumers is always in flux—except, that is, their concern for a safe, affordable, and continuous water supply. At the local level, utilities are adaptive systems that need to respond not only to a community's specific needs and concerns, but also to large‐scale phenomena and international events.

Beyond the challenges of the pandemic, the water industry's adaptivity is also driven by an underlying goal of continuous improvement, the kind made by crews fixing broken mains in the freezing cold, a conservation department managing a smart meter roll‐out program, treatment plants minimizing disinfection byproducts and considering potable reuse—the list goes on. Besides reinforcing resilience, water professionals must continue to adapt to an ever‐changing world by thinking creatively and considering novel approaches that will improve future flexibility and resilience.

This issue of Journal AWWA features articles on diversity and inclusion, disinfection trends, conservation rebates, and more. Please consider sharing your perspectives and experiences, including those related to adaptivity, with water professionals across the globe by writing me at journaleditor@awwa.org.

在可持续性方面，弹性恢复的补充是适应性调整。自来水公司的许多工作都集中在系统维护服务和从中断中恢复的能力上，但同样重要的是要了解当情况出乎意料之外时，何时以及如何改变情况。

考虑到所有因素，水业已证明对最新大流行的挑战具有极强的抵御能力，并且还表现出了出色的适应性。即使COVID-19关闭了某些部门，安全用水仍继续流向依赖该部门的家庭和企业。由于大流行干扰了正常运行，很高兴看到供水系统适应得很快，既可以在家中工作，又可以制定程序保护那些不能用水的人。在许多情况下，至少在短期内，已经为陷入失业或挣扎的客户苦苦挣扎的客户提供了经济便利。

即使大流​​行仍在继续，水行业仍然面临其他挑战-洪水，干旱，基础设施老化，通讯障碍-因此，对水专业人士而言，保持包括适应性调整的灵活性和机智在内的技能至关重要。我们必须确保供水和废水处理系统在面对潜在的破坏时能够有效地做出响应，但更重要的是，操作和指导这些系统的人员必须了解系统的局限性，个人的局限性以及在需要时何时何地开始探索潜在的选择方案。更改。

在大多数情况下，自来水行业的变化缓慢，大约在几年到几十年之间。在某些情况下，例如逐步淘汰铅管，这似乎要花费一生。适应性在管理方面尤为重要，尤其是在传达严重问题时，因为地面上的管道通常保持不变，但消费者的心态始终在变化-除非他们担心安全，负担得起的，并持续供水。在地方一级，公用事业是自适应系统，不仅需要响应社区的特定需求和关注，还需要响应大规模的现象和国际事件。

除了大流行的挑战之外，水行业的适应性还受到持续改进的基本目标的推动，这种目标是由工作人员在冰冻的寒冷中固定坏掉的水管，管理智能电表推出计划的养护部门，最小化处理厂所实现的。消毒副产品并考虑饮用水的可重复使用性-清单还在继续。除了增强弹性，水务专业人员还必须通过创造性思维和考虑新颖的方法来不断适应不断变化的世界，这些方法将提高未来的灵活性和弹性。

本期《 AWWA杂志》的特色文章涉及多样性和包容性，消毒趋势，保护返利等。请考虑与全球水务专业人员分享您的观点和经验，包括与适应性有关的观点和经验，方法是给我写信至journaleditor@awwa.org。