- Rising population combined with increasing urbanization and industrialization
Market Drivers
World's Changing Demographic Profile
Natural Resources Scarcity
- A growing, more affluent population will put increasing pressure on the supply of natural resources
Increasing Waste and Pollution
- As the world continues to grow it produces increasingly harmful levels of waste and pollution
Climate Change
- Continuing shifts in weather patterns cause disruptions in current ways of obtaining and distributing water
Global Impact on Food, Water & Energy Nexus by 2030
- 35% increase in demand for food
- 40% increase in demand for water
- 50% increase in demand for energy
Leading to Worldwide Infrastructure Investments
- $22 trillion investment globally
- $635 billion investment in the U.S.
California: The Epicenter of Water Supply Problems
California Hit by Top 4 Water Industry Troubles
American Water Works Association, 2014 State of the Water Industry Report
1. Repairs/upgrades to water and sewer infrastructure
-Cash requirements could easily top $2 trillion over the next 25 years in the United States alone
2. Long-term water supply availability
-Groundwater management and overuse, watershed protection, and drought or periodic water shortages
-Areas of large and growing affluent populations often not close to water
-Vulnerable to impacts of climate change
-Top three regulatory concerns are: pollutant discharges, disinfection by-products, and combined sewer overflows.
3. Financing for capital improvements
-Can’t rely on State and Federal funding
-External subsidies no longer readily available in the current political environment
4. Public understanding of the value of water resources
-Public frequently doesn’t support the levels of funding required for safe and reliable water service
-Industry has been ineffective in explaining infrastructure challenges to key decision makers and general public
-Industry leaders need to explain how costs are balanced through minor rate increases and financing plans