The Bluefield team recently returned from Esri’s Infrastructure Management and GIS (IMGIS) Conference in Palm Springs, California. The conference brought together more than 500 Esri staff members, technology and service partners, and end-users from water and other critical infrastructure sectors, such as the electric, oil and gas, and telecoms industries. While water utilities are often… Continue reading Utilities on the Front Lines: Takeaways from Esri’s IMGIS Conference
Category: Our Take
Water Takes a Seat at the Table in New, Landmark Infrastructure Bill
The elusive “Infrastructure Week” has finally been realized with the passage of H.R. 3685, a US$1.2 trillion infrastructure bill that includes US$550 billion in new spending. For water, this is a significant FIRST step to tackle some age-old problems like water quality and aging infrastructure, in addition to the mounting concerns over climate. Given that… Continue reading Water Takes a Seat at the Table in New, Landmark Infrastructure Bill
To Remove All the Lead Pipes in America…First, You Need to Find Them. Digital Can Help.
The country is a step closer to addressing the longstanding issue of lead in the country’s drinking water with the bipartisan infrastructure bill that Congress advanced last week allocating US$15 billion for lead pipe remediation. Knocked down from US$45 billion, the approved funding for removing lead pipes from drinking water sources is US$17 billion short of Bluefield’s… Continue reading To Remove All the Lead Pipes in America…First, You Need to Find Them. Digital Can Help.
Thirsty Agriculture Sector Looks to Innovation to Reduce Water Footprint, Boost Resilience
Agriculture accounts for the lion’s share of freshwater consumption—more than 40% in high income countries and as much as 70%, elsewhere. If anything, the scale of water usage is so large that it is often considered too big to even try to manage. Although, change is afoot. The convergence of external forces, such as more… Continue reading Thirsty Agriculture Sector Looks to Innovation to Reduce Water Footprint, Boost Resilience
Could Greater Regulatory Acceptance Turbocharge Digital Water Market Growth?
In August 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its decision to amend the City of South Bend, Indiana’s Clean Water Act consent decree. Issued in 2012 to address the City’s combined sewer overflow problems, the consent decree originally required South Bend to invest as much as US$700 million dollars in upgrading its wastewater… Continue reading Could Greater Regulatory Acceptance Turbocharge Digital Water Market Growth?
Is Net Water Positive Just Hype?
Water is on the corporate brain, big tech players (e.g., Microsoft, Facebook), food & beverage companies (e.g., PepsiCo), and oil & gas firms (e.g., BP), are committing to becoming “water positive” over the next decade. What does it mean to be “water positive”? In short, companies that achieve water positivity are replenishing more water than they… Continue reading Is Net Water Positive Just Hype?
Has the Current Drought Pushed the U.S. to a Tipping Point?
Federal officials have mandated the first-ever water cuts on the Colorado River system amidst a drought that is poised to devastate farms, power stations, and communities. Amazingly, the river sustains 40 million people, or almost 13% of the U.S. population. It also irrigates more than 5 million acres in the region. So, it comes as… Continue reading Has the Current Drought Pushed the U.S. to a Tipping Point?
The Middle East: Leaders in Water Stress and Water Reuse
The Middle East region has faced water scarcity for a number of years. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, along with the rest of the Middle East region, falls almost exclusively into extreme baseline stressed conditions. This fact is not new. In 2016, NASA cited the Middle East drought as the worst in 900 years.… Continue reading The Middle East: Leaders in Water Stress and Water Reuse
Water to Benefit from Beyond the Obvious in Washington’s Proposed Infrastructure Plan
The Biden Administration laid out its initial US$2 trillion proposal, The American Jobs Plan, to rebuild the country’s infrastructure, and it reaffirms Bluefield’s optimism about the prospects for the water sector. Its potential benefits for water companies and organizations are wide-sweeping, from addressing water quality (e.g., lead service line replacements) to modernizing critical infrastructure (e.g., energy,… Continue reading Water to Benefit from Beyond the Obvious in Washington’s Proposed Infrastructure Plan
We Need Infrastructure Investment. Let’s Not Forget about Water
Water infrastructure needs to be at the forefront of the Biden administration and Congressional agendas. And not just because of aging pipes, but because our nation’s water quality, water resources, and human health are at increasing risk because of our own inaction and chronic underinvestment. Safe drinking water from every household tap is an incredible,… Continue reading We Need Infrastructure Investment. Let’s Not Forget about Water
