Private Investment
The role of private participation in water, globally, is one path to rehabilitating and upgrading utility assets. From investor-owned utilities in the U.S. to build-own-and-operate contracts for desalination plants in the Middle East, the roles played by private investors—financial and strategic—vary significantly by country and regulatory frameworks.
As the regional markets evolve in response to dynamic macroeconomic and climatic influences, established players are poised to build out from their existing platform positions and be joined by new market entrants.
Recent Analysis
Scale Is the Strategy: American, Essential Set Benchmark for Water Investor-Owned Utilities
Private Equity in Water: Acquisitions, Exits, and Investment Trends
Essential and Investor-Owned Water Utilities Look Beyond the Rate Base
U.S. Water Utility Ownership & Strategies: Key Trends, M&A Activity, and Market Outlook, Q3 2025
Azuria, Inframark Join to Create US$2 Billion Water Service Platform
Nexus’s Utility Sell-Off Goes to American Water
Harmful Algal Blooms:
France PFAS Ban Advances Europe Remediation
EU Struggles to Enforce Wastewater Regulations While Expanding Scope
3M Windfall for Impacted PFAS Water Systems
Read more research on water quality
Key Research Questions
In which ways are investor-owned utilities targeting wastewater?
How will PFAS and other legislation impact private water utility strategies?
How does private water deal flow in 2025 compare to last year?
What countries, outside of the U.S., offer opportunities for private investment in water?
Private Investment Data
22,000+
private drinking water utilities in the U.S.
13 states
have fair market value legislation
22 deals
with private water buyers approved in Texas in 2024
US$1,811
of average cost per water utility connection
Talk to our water experts about private investment in water
