The Water Industry

Our country’s public water systems provide water to a vast majority of Americans. Local governments traditionally have owned and operated public water systems, but in recent years an increasing number of municipalities have elected to sell or outsource their water operations to private companies.

The United States water industry has two main segments: utilities, which involve supplying services to customers, and general services, which involve providing water related services to utilities and other consumers on a fee-for-service contract basis. The Pacific Northwest Section has members from both segments.

Utility Segment: The utility segment includes municipal systems, which are owned and operated by local governments and investor-owned systems. Government owned systems make up the vast majority of the United States water utility segment, accounting for approximately 84 percent of all community water systems.

The utility segment of the water industry is highly fragmented, with approximately 53,000 community water systems according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Pacific Northwest Section member water providers are subject to economic regulation in the states in which they operate. The federal government and the states also regulate environmental, health, safety and water quality matters.

General Services: General services encompasses those services surrounding the supply of water, including engineering, consulting and sales of water infrastructure and distribution products. These services are provided to water utilities and other consumers on a fee-for-service contract basis and are not subject to economic regulation.