The Future of Water

2021 was a positive year for the water market, overall, with record levels of deals, but the digital water market saw mixed results in M&A and in the VC space. Podcast host, Reese Tisdale , hosts Bluefield’s discussion on key trends that impacted digital water in 2021 and opportunities identified expected for the year ahead. Although, supply chain disruptions, inflationary pressures, and growi...

On 8 March 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a memorandum to guide collaborative implementation with state, local, and tribal partners of US$43 billion in water infrastructure funding through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The EPA’s memo outlines requirements and recommendations for the Drinking Water and Clean Water State Revolving Funds (SRFs). From disadvantaged co...

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine (and the world) will have cascading effects on international energy markets, particularly those more heavily reliant on natural gas, let alone Russian natural gas. The water sector is at risk to energy markets, globally, and is now being compelled to adopt more energy efficient tools and solutions. This episode, discusses what this conflict might mean for wa...

Podcast host,  Reese Tisdale , and Bluefield’s Senior Analyst  Amber Walsh explore potential missed opportunities in household water management. Although domestic water or household water usage represents a small share of the pie, it could represent an enormous opportunity for water management, investment, and advanced data applications. As such, digital water vendors, technology companies, and co...

In this episode, Bluefield’s Keith Hays and Eric Bindler , delves into the canned-water company Liquid Death and the growing questions about bottled water, the incredible size of the bottled water market, and potential risks to water utilities, from perception to customer erosion. At the beginning of 2022, Liquid Death announced that it landed more than US$75 million in funding to expand its footp...

As we close out 2021, Bluefield digs into the top stories that defined water this past year, for good and bad. We’ll take a look back at how COVID-19 and supply chain disruptions influenced water investment and revisit some predictions for the year that did or did not come to fruition. 

According to an October AWWA survey, key issues facing water sector utilities and service providers in the U.S. and Canada are hiring difficulties and supply chain issues. Hiring, employee turnover, staffing continuity, and chemical supply chain issues are among the list of top challenges. What is the outlook for the water sector and where do utilities turn for help in addressing these COVID-relat...

As Congress has seemingly crawled across the finish line for a momentous infrastructure bill, executives in the water sector have expressed some frustration that the total amount of the bill is not enough to take on the myriad of challenges. Bluefield’s Greg Goodwin and Reese Tisdale take a more optimistic and expansive view of the bill and share thoughts on the basics, where the dollars are going...

Deal activity in water is climbing. If activity in the Private Water and Digital Water sectors keep pace, as it has historically over the past few years, this year’s transactions in water will surpass 2020’s 368 transactions. Reese Tisdale talks about deals that are interesting to him and what they mean for the water sector: 1.) NextEra carving out a new water platform with its acquisition of a re...

Bluefield’s digital water expert, Eric Bindler, breaks down his key findings from attending this year’s WEFTEC in Chicago. Eric discusses new product launches from Kando and Schneider Electric, water sector staffing and hiring issues, the potential impact vaccine mandates may have on utility and vendor workforces, and new market entrants.

The world is in a seemingly crazy and disjointed place, as climate, COVID, and geopolitical issues influence water markets. Bluefield’s water experts address some key trends and events impacting water and global water management giving their perspectives on everything from climate’s role and impact, the water/energy nexus and a potential shift to a fossil fuel generation, and global scale supply c...

Companies across the water industry are feeling the effects of supply chain constraints, which are creating headwinds even as demand soars from 2020 levels. Key inputs such as plastic resin, iron and steel, copper, and semiconductors have seen double-digit price increases, impacting firms as diverse as pipe OEMs, treatment chemical suppliers, and metering firms. Bluefield’s Nathan Goldstein shares...

For the sixth consecutive year, Bluefield Research has embarked upon an analysis of the water and wastewater rates in the U.S . and the impacts on residential water and wastewater bills. Bluefield’s Erin Bonney Casey shares her perspective on her recent analysis of utility water rates and potential impacts of drought on customer water bills. The analysis comes at a time when the Colorado River Bas...

Reliance on data played a fundamental role in helping utilities understand and manage the impacts of COVID-19. From utilities devising new customer communication strategies to the future of the utility business model, Bluefield’s Digital Water Research Director, Eric Bindler, discusses key findings from attending this year’s Utility Management Conference in Atlanta… Water news… Reese also shares h...

The American Water Works Association just released its 2021 State of the Water Industry report   which presents the findings of a survey of 3,021 water industry professionals. The survey is designed to identify key challenges in the water industry and their underlying drivers and causes.  Despite the  significant disruption in the water sector over the last year, the study indicates there is a ris...

The broader impact of connectivity, online commerce, and door-to-door delivery cannot be overlooked.  Amazon garners the most attention, but it is not alone in shaping this new paradigm that has accelerated over the last year. From food for dinner to toilet paper, it is all being delivered in some form of packaging. Like anything, yes, anything, the impact on water usage is changing in parallel. B...

It has only been a couple of years since California emerged from the last drought (2011-2019). Now it, alongside neighboring states, has been thrust into a seemingly worse situation than before. The alarm bells are ringing loud and clear, but what does it really mean? Host Reese Tisdale shares a couple of facts and thoughts on the drought and what this might mean for California, the region, and st...

Rather than focus on the nuts and bolts of the water industry, Bluefield shares broader market trends that are exciting our team. In this discussion, our water experts examine 7 key factors shaping the outlook of water management. From the Internet of things to the future of agriculture, the team looks at global drivers of change impacting the water sector– municipal and industrial. Market forces...

Data and the Internet of things are giving rise to a more notable group of influential companies in water: Telecommunications firms. By providing the essential “rails” for data transmission and connectivity between utility systems, assets, and companies, telecoms are poised to increasingly leverage their unique positions at the center of the digitization of water. While utility needs vary, municip...

A key factor driving the rapid growth of the global digital water market is the more mainstream adoption of cloud computing, according to Bluefield Research Director, Eric Bindler.  While cloud- and SaaS-based solutions were first popularized in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the water industry has only recently begun to embrace them. Captivating industry suppliers is the potential impact cloud c...

For eight months Suez has pushed back against advances from Veolia in public via press releases, poison pills, and the entertainment of other suitors. However, on the 12th of April, Veolia and Suez announced that they have reached an agreement for a merger putting an end to the disputed takeover. The deal, which closes 14 May 2021, gives Suez an equity value of about €13 billion (US$15.4 billion)....

It is finally “infrastructure week.” The Biden administration has proposed its US$2.2 trillion American Jobs Plan.  Sure, the Biden plan is a wish list, but one thing that stands out for the water sector is the US$45 billion to tackle lead service lines.  It is a well-documented, open secret that drinking water for millions of people is tainted with lead. For so long, no one has wanted to pay for...

Water touches almost every product, so it’s worth considering it as a critical input to every strategic supply chain decision. Climate issues continue to ripple through global industrial supply chains – from Texas to Taiwan. The combination of COVID-related shutdowns and drought is upending the industrial landscape. If anything, recent, water-related events show us how important it is to have a co...

In honor of World Water Day (March 22), this episode is dedicated to raising awareness of the value of water.  We took this opportunity to have a conversation to call your attention to water, what it means to you, how society can better protect this vital resource, and how Bluefield Research falls into that landscape. John Berryman interviews Bluefield President, Reese Tisdale, about the journey o...

In response to three recent billion-dollar water deals , Bluefield is releasing a special episode of The Future of Water—to help our listeners break down what this growing interest in water means. Bluefield’s Reese Tisdale and Keith Hays discuss what has fundamentally changed in the market that makes water more attractive for investment now, characteristics of the recent megadeals, and what these...