Capital expenditures for U.S. municipal water and wastewater utilities – including spending on pipes, plants and pumps – are expected to exceed $532 billion between 2016 and 2025, according to recent forecasts from Bluefield Research. This outlook draws heavily from planned utility budgets and represents an almost 28 percent increase over the last ten years.
In releasing the report, “U.S. Municipal Water Infrastructure: Utility Strategies and CAPEX Forecasts, 2016-2025,” Bluefield President Reese Tisdale said: “Our research indicates that the water utility sector has finally emerged from the economic downturn, which undercut public spending in water infrastructure by almost 15 percent from 2009 to 2014. We anticipate a surge of network upgrades to address aging infrastructure, scaling populations, and tightening environmental regulations nationwide that will usher in new infrastructure technology and financing solutions.”
While capital expenditures are forecast to rebound, the report notes that a significant decrease in federal funding for water utilities will pass the burden on to states, municipalities and ultimately ratepayers. Residential water and sewer bills have increased annually five percent and 20 percent, respectively, since 2000, but their impact is expected to continue falling short of infrastructure needs, the report said.
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More key findings are online at http://bluefieldresearch.com/us-municipal-water-infrastructure-forecast-reaches-532-billion.