随着私有化、有管理的竞争、电力行业的放松管制以及越来越多的环境立法，水务公司必须追求的不仅仅是高水平的服务和可靠性。他们必须寻求具有竞争力的服务水平和可靠性。为了实现这一目标，水供应商必须平衡财务考虑和消费者需求。他们必须优化利用生产流程和支持系统，最终实现生态效率，即与其他企业经济高效地利用资源。信息技术（IT）通过以下方式在实现这种普遍高效的环境中发挥着关键作用: 实现计算机系统、信息、人力资源和自然资源的整合；确定共同的绩效衡量标准；以及优化性能。现有的三种模式——公用事业通信体系结构、公用事业业务体系结构和工业生态学——可以作为结构化应用程序，在工厂、公用事业和区域级别进行高效的IT规划和部署。包括16个参考文献、图表。

With privatization, managed competition, deregulation of the power industry, and increasing environmental legislation, water utilities must aspire to more than high levels of service and reliability. They must seek competitive levels of service and reliability. To reach this goal, water providers have to balance financial considerations and consumer requirements. They must make optimal use of production processes and support systems, ultimately achieving ecoefficiency, i.e., economically efficient use of resources with other businesses. Information technology (IT) plays a key role in achieving this climate of widespread efficiency by: enabling the integration of computer systems, information, human resources, and natural resources; defining common performance measures; and, optimizing performance. Three existing paradigms - the utility communications architecture, utility business architecture, and industrial ecology - can serve as structured applications for efficient IT planning and deployment at the plant, utility, and regional levels. Includes 16 references, figures.