Let’s be honest — nobody got into the water utility business because they love data entry, paperwork, or chasing down test reports. You signed up to protect public health, maintain safe water systems, and keep your city running smoothly. But somewhere along the way, the job became just as much about clicking boxes, tracking emails, and updating spreadsheets as it did about solving real problems in the field.
So here’s a question for you — a simple one, but one that might just lead to some interesting ideas:
If you could automate one thing in your job tomorrow, what would it be?
Think about it. Maybe it’s something small but annoying, like having to manually scan test reports and upload them to a shared drive. Or maybe it’s something bigger — like chasing down non-compliant commercial property owners for the tenth time this year. Or sorting out which backflow devices are due for testing this month. Or re-entering the same data in three different systems because nothing talks to each other.
We’re asking this not just because we build tools that help automate parts of backflow program management — we’re asking because we genuinely want to know. Everyone’s job is different. Every city’s process is different. And the people who know best what needs fixing are the ones doing the work every day. That’s you.
Why This Question Matters
Most automation in our industry has been reactive — a patch here, a workaround there, maybe a clunky system cobbled together from PDFs, email templates, and shared folders. But that’s not automation — that’s duct tape.
Real automation starts with asking the right questions:
- What tasks drain the most time but don’t need a human touch?
- What slows you down when you should be focused on decision-making?
- Where do mistakes creep in that could be avoided with the right system?
It’s not about taking jobs away. It’s about taking nuisances away. It’s about freeing you up to do the work that actually matters — like keeping the water system safe, responding to emergencies, educating the public, and planning for growth.
And to do that right, we need to hear from you.
Some Common Pain Points We’ve Heard
If you’re not sure where to start, here are a few things we’ve heard from operators, compliance officers, and utility directors across Texas and beyond:
“I spend half my time reminding testers to submit their reports.”
Automating reminders — especially for recurring deadlines like annual tests — is a low-hanging fruit that can save hours every week.
“We have no easy way to see which devices haven’t been tested yet.”
Automated dashboards and filtered reports can give you this information instantly, without the manual work of sorting through Excel sheets or calling around.
“The same data goes into three different systems. And it’s always out of sync.”
Integrations and data syncing should be automatic, not another job for someone who already has too many tabs open.
“Most of our communication with property owners is still paper mail or one-off emails.”
Mass email and text notifications, scheduled follow-ups, and automated compliance letters can dramatically reduce manual communication while improving enforcement.
But Don’t Just Take Our Word For It
Now it’s your turn. If there’s one thing in your day that you could wave a magic wand and automate, what would it be?
It doesn’t have to be complicated. Just think of the task that makes you roll your eyes, groan, or procrastinate every time it comes up. That’s probably a good candidate.
And here’s the kicker: we’re not asking just out of curiosity.
We’ll be compiling the responses into an anonymized report and publishing a follow-up post: “Top 10 Things Water Operators Wish They Could Automate”. It’ll give everyone a glimpse at where the biggest opportunities are — and maybe even spark some new solutions for your own team.
So go ahead. Vent a little. Dream big. Be specific.
Email your answer to news@flo-trace.com with the subject line: “One Thing I’d Automate”. If you want, tell us your city and job title so we can give you a shoutout in the follow-up piece (totally optional). You can also stay anonymous.
What Happens Next?
In a few weeks, we’ll compile the most common responses — and the most surprising ones — and share them in a new blog post. If your idea is something we think we can help automate through Flo-Trace, we might even reach out to chat more.
This isn’t about selling you software. It’s about building better tools with the people who use them.
And honestly, it’s just nice to hear from other folks who deal with the same day-to-day headaches and have ideas for making things better.
TL;DR
- Question: If you could automate one thing in your job tomorrow, what would it be?
- Why: We want to learn what matters most to water operators, and use that input to shape the future of Flo-Trace (and share it back with the industry).
- How to respond: Email your answer to news@flo-trace.com.
- What’s next: We’ll publish the top 10 responses in a follow-up blog post soon.
Let’s reimagine what your job could look like if the small, soul-sucking tasks disappeared — and all that was left was the work that matters.
We’re listening.