Chronically aging infrastructure. Lurking cybersecurity threats,

budget tightropes and the quest for sustainability. Mounting

external pressures for more resilience against the menace of

climate change’s fallout. An evolving, shifting regulatory landscape

stoking uncertainty. Workforce staffing headaches and broad public

misperceptions about rates and the value of water.

Never has the U.S. water, wastewater and stormwater sectors

confronted so much. Yet Black & Veatch’s 2023 Water Report also

finds a wealth of opportunity, most clearly in digital technologies

and innovations that help operators make better decisions and get

the most of their assets.

Integrated water solutions also provide a wealth of opportunities.

With the providing of reliable, safe water at the core of every utility’s

mandate and mission, these dynamic times are helping reshape

the water sector that is increasingly — and promisingly — adopting

integrated solutions that achieve sustainable development and

system resilience. Contributing to that is a widening embrace of a

“One Water” approach based on accepting that all forms of water —

from drinking water to wastewater, stormwater, reclaimed water,

indirect and direct potable reuse, and groundwater — are a singular

resource to be managed sustainably.

Based on expert analyses of a survey of roughly 450 U.S. water

sector stakeholders, the 2023 Water Report takes the pulse of the

industry on these topics and more, dissecting the pain points, the

trends and opportunities facing water utilities today.

To no surprise, it’s a conversation that begins with the white

elephant in the room: the critical infrastructure that gets older

by the day — and the complexities involved in addressing aging

infrastructure among many other competing interests.