The Water Industry:A Closer Look at the Numbers

摘要

It's been quite a few years since we talked specifics in this column about the changing size and general characteristics of the water market itself. Because this is after all the "Market Outlook" column, perhaps it's time to take another look at the water market—how to define or draw a boundary around the water business, the outlook and growth characteristics of the business, and how it is expanding or changing as time marches forward. A DISPARATE BUSINESS Although we commonly talk about the "water industry," strictly speaking, of course, there is really no such thing. What there really is instead is a broad and diverse group of fundamentally quite different business sectors—all of which have something to do with delivery of clean water. All of these business sectors collectively add up to what we call the water industry, but they can't all be classified under any single heading.