The Future of Water

Podcast host Reese Tisdale talks with Bluefield Analyst Amber Walsh to get the low down on top takeaways from Q2 industrial water analysis. Industrial water markets are seeing a lot of change—from rising demand for data, the energy transition, and a focus on corporate sustainability strategies. In this discussion, Bluefield's water experts share their insights on three hot industries making waves...

Spain’s water sector has evolved in light of the country's unique challenges such as extensive infrastructure buildout in recent decades, population boom, economic recessions, and persistent droughts. Despite these hurdles, Spain has made notable strides in areas including desalination, water management, and technology adoption. VP & Managing Director Keith Hays and Analyst Maria Cardenal from...

Update: As of 23 May 2024, deal talks between Schneider Electric and Bentley Systems have ended, with no plans to move forward with an acquisition. Schneider Electric and Bentley have confirmed ongoing discussions regarding a potential acquisition, marking a significant development in the water industry. With Bentley's market value estimated at approximately US$16 billion, the prospective deal wou...

Bluefield's latest remediation forecast for PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) has surged to US$13.5 billion by 2030 in the wake of anticipated maximum contamination limits (MCLs) for drinking water and a significant legal settlement involving 3M in South Carolina. Now, with the EPA confirming these unprecedented contaminant limits, a fresh wave of discussions emerge, touching upon the EPA...

While artificial intelligence (AI) has indeed become a prevalent buzzword in many regards, capturing headlines over the past 12 to 18 months, its potential impact remains significant. There are real applications and impacts that are unfolding for AI, including those in the water and wastewater sectors. In the U.S. utility construction sector—which is facing chronic labor shortages amid historic le...

Public sector water and wastewater project owners, engineering & design firms, and contractors are facing cost overruns, schedule delays, and contractual disputes that are slowing the execution and delivery of critical infrastructure. These factors have prompted the development of new policies and project experiences, accelerating collaborative project delivery approaches. The methods include...

A number of Bluefield clients have enquired about the status of IIJA project funds. Each program stands in terms of four funding phases: appropriated, announced, obligated, outlaid. Podcast host Reese Tisdale is joined by Bluefield Senior Analyst Isabel Kezman to discuss recent analysis of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act . In this episode, Bluefield's water experts speak on the pace of...

The global private equity (PE) sector has grown thirteenfold since 2000, wielding increasing influence over critical infrastructure sectors. The proliferation of digital technologies across the water industry has opened new growth avenues for select PE investors. Reese Tisdale is joined by Bluefield Analyst Christine Ow, to discuss her recent research on the role of PE firms in the digital water s...

Reese Tisdale is joined by Bluefield Senior Analyst Charlie Suse to discuss recent research on Investor-Owned Utilities in water. Reese and Charlie spell out Bluefield's definition of "Private Water", followed by a dive into the market outlook, including: Utility M&A trends, what companies are paying for water systems, the influential players in the private water space, and where the market is...

The eight Japanese trading companies, also known as “sogo shosha”, are Mitsubishi Corporation, Mitsui Corporation, Hitachi Corporation, Itochu Corporation, Sumitomo Corporation, Marubeni Corporation, Toyota Tsusho, and Sojitz Corporation. Together these firms reported nearly US$600 billion in assets under management in 2023. These companies are global, with positions in key markets geographically,...

Badger Meter, a leading manufacturer of water metering products, has recently acquired the Telog brand of RTUs (remote telemetry units) and associated monitoring software from Trimble. Podcast host and Bluefield President Reese Tisdale , sits down with Bluefield's Senior Research Director Eric Bindler, to shed some light on the transaction, what this signals to the water market, and who and which...

In this first episode of 2024, podcast host Reese Tisdale chats with two members of Bluefield's Europe team, Chloé Meyer and Keith Hays, to get their on-the-ground perspectives of key water sector trends in the EU. From water quality to reuse to circular economy, Bluefield's water experts discuss what, if any, the implications are for water management in relation to energy prices and the Ukraine-R...

In this episode, Bluefield water experts discuss key themes in industrial water from this past quarter. Podcast Host Reese Tisdale , sits down with Bluefield Senior Analyst Amber Walsh, to discuss their findings. 3 major takeaways below: There has been a recent rise of public private partnerships for water projects and industrial companies partnering with water utilities. Opportunities for mobile...

The Future of Water Podcast host, Reese Tisdale , and Senior Water Analyst Charlie Suse, discuss findings and takeaways from Bluefield's Water & Sewer Rate Index , published earlier this month. Over the past 12 years, combined household water and sewer bills for a typical U.S. household has increased by a total of 54.8%, or an average of 4.1% each year. From 2022 to 2023, combined household wa...

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has reported that employment of water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators is projected to decline 6% from 2022 to 2032. This news shines the spotlight on a critical infrastructure sector that faces mounting challenges, from aging infrastructure assets to emerging contaminants (i.e., PFAS). As water and wastewater treatment plants become mor...

Two Montreal-based firms have been recently taken private. On 2 October 2023, Ember Infrastructure announced it would acquire H2O Innovation Inc., a Canadian water solutions provider. A few weeks later, LOGISTEC entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by private equity firm Blue Wolf Capital Partners and infrastructure investment firm Stonepeak. The LOGISTEC acquisition , one of seven “...

What is saltwater intrusion and how common is it? The city of New Orleans has been faced with a national emergency as a saltwater wedge had been expected to reach the area impacting the drinking water supply of 1.2 million people. If contaminated, it could be weeks or months before freshwater returns, unless there is significant rainfall, leaders say. Most coastal regions are always under the thre...

In today's episode, Reese Tisdale and Senior Municipal Water Analyst Isabel Kezman provide a financial overview of the U.S. water industry discussing the markets, challenges, and regional differences. Isabel breaks down regional footprints of key federal, state, and private funding sources for the water sector. This episode highlights examples of innovative utility funding and financing strategies...

Taking a different approach on this episode, Reese Tisdale flies solo and shares some perspectives from recent analysis presented to clients by Bluefield Research's team of water experts . Three areas of discussion in this episode: Utility Capital Improvement Plans: Bluefield’s team of water experts has dedicated significant time and resources to supporting companies with bottom-up data collection...

The Future of Water host, Reese Tisdale , talks with Bluefield's Senior Analyst Ethan Edwards about the Aegion deal, M&A, and the trenchless pipe rehabilitation market. In this episode, the Bluefield team dives into Aegion's acquisition of Portland Utilities Construction Company (PUCC), a trenchless service provider specializing in cured-in-place pipe (CIPP) and pipe bursting. PUCC serves the...

Danish pump manufacturer Grundfos has recently acquired U.K.-based telemetry and analytics firm Metasphere from private equity investor XPV Water Partners. Grundfos has in recent years, expanded its footprint from its core pump offerings for water network management and treatment toward digital offerings. Metasphere’s specific experience with wastewater networks especially in the U.K. and Australi...

In Europe, the need for sustainable water management solutions has been magnified by last summer’s drought and record-breaking temperatures. The increasing severity of water stress remains a key driver behind the implementation of wastewater reuse. Particularly, in Southern Europe where water stress is more pronounced, the water reuse market has witnessed greater development, although with challen...

The potential collapse of Thames Water is all over the news and has raised alarm bells on many fronts. Thames Water serves approximately 15 million people across greater London. Not a small system by any comparison, and it seems to be sinking under a £14 billion debt load, thereby requiring more money.   In this episode, Bluefield's water experts shed some light on what has led up to this crisis a...

In recent weeks, both the American Water Works Association (AWWA) and Black & Veatch released their industry surveys of the market. We thought it might be interesting to dig in a bit, and share Bluefield perspectives.   Bluefield's water experts discuss the survey findings and breakdown the top water industry issues: aging water infrastructure, supply chain challenges, cybersecurity, financing...

There are over 72,000 community water systems and wastewater treatment facilities in the U.S. But what is the addressable market opportunity for water and wastewater for utilities and investors? And how do the opportunities vary by utility ownership, system size, and state? Our clients have been asking Bluefield to size the municipal water and wastewater sectors to help support their market entry,...