What’s the Word on the Water and Wastewater Markets?

Workers at the tunnel opened the valve allowing water to flow from the Niagara River up to the tunnel gates in an area known as the intake channel. Once in service, water will flow from the Niagara River through the tunnel leading to the Sir Adam Beck generating stations.In November 2012, a valve was opened at the Chippawa end of the Niagara Tunnel Project, the third hydro tunnel under the city of Niagara Falls. That one valve, which allowed water to flow into an intake area to bring more water to Ontario’s Sir Adam Beck hydroelectricity facility, will generate enough additional electricity to power about 160,000 homes.

When we think about water valves, we tend to visualize mainly municipal drinking water supply and wastewater treatment. But that valve in Niagara Falls joins millions of others like it that drive dozens of other applications such as stormwater diversion, energy production, mining, food production, manufacturing and hydraulic fracturing.

According to a 2010 report by the Equilibrium Capital Group, the U.S. Water and Wastewater Market in 2015 is expected to reach $150 billion, which includes municipal utilities and the industrial sector’s operating and capital expenses. During the VMA Market Outlook meeting in August 2012, experts in the field stressed that, while the markets for water and wastewater valves have slowed down somewhat in North America, the growing urbanization of developing nations is creating a boom in infrastructure building. Desalination, water re-use and the need for improved wastewater management are especially important in those developing countries.

As valve, actuator and control manufacturers are among the key players in this industry, and a good portion of our readers are end users who work in these markets, we’ve decided it’s time for a column dedicated to the water and wastewater industry in its entirety.

Issues such as scarcity of water resources, environmental regulations and the lack of financial resources for upgrading and maintaining municipal infrastructure provide challenges to the valve industry, but they also provide opportunities. This column will explore both angles. It will also look at new technology that makes it possible to safely re-use urban water and generate power from wastewater and discuss how valve manufacturers can contribute to the efficiency and viability of new projects. Our goal is to share information in this column that will facilitate even more technological advances.

VALVE Magazine approached some VMA members who make products for water applications to ask them what they see as vital issues for the valve industry in the water and wastewater market and what they would like to see covered in this column. Here’s what they said:

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