Industry Insights
Our Industry Insights provide deep-dive analyses into global water topics, including water infrastructure, industrial water management, digital solutions, and more. Reports are available for purchase (through our Report Store) or with a Corporate Subscription.
Quarterly Review + Data
U.S. Water Utility Ownership & Strategies: Key Trends, M&A Activity, and Market Outlook, Q4 2025
U.S. utility M&A regained momentum in Q3 2025, signaling renewed consolidation pressures across the sector. Bluefield tracked 32 deals, the highest quarterly count since Q3 2023.
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Essential and Investor-Owned Water Utilities Look Beyond the Rate Base
Essential Utilities’ commitment to the Greene County data center project, slated to come online in 2029, looks less like a strategic pivot and more like...
23 Sep. 2025
Research Note
Brief research summaries of market development or company strategies.
What’s behind NextEra Water’s Retreat?
Just one year after establishing a foothold in the water and wastewater utility sector, NextEra’s leadership team has pulled the plug on its brief venture...
18 Apr. 2023
Research Note
Brief research summaries of market development or company strategies.
Policy Shifts, Inflation Reduction Act Strengthen Opportunity for Renewable Natural Gas
In the wake of the Inflation Recovery Act’s passage, wastewater solutions providers are poised to benefit from the Section 48 Energy Investment Tax Credit (ITC)...
13 Sep. 2022
Research Note
Brief research summaries of market development or company strategies.
Geography Plays Potential Role in Water IOU Mitigation Strategies for PFAS
With state and federal governments increasing their focus on PFAS regulations, public water systems, including investor-owned utilities, will need to make significant investments to meet...
21 Apr. 2022
Research Note
Brief research summaries of market development or company strategies.
NextEra Signals Approaching Water-Energy Convergence
On 20 October 2021, during its third-quarter earnings call, NextEra Energy Inc.’s management team announced the acquisition of 17 regulated water and two wastewater utility...
4 Nov. 2021
Research Note
Brief research summaries of market development or company strategies.
Covid-19 Sets Stage for Water & Wastewater Utility M&A
As implications of the coronavirus pandemic continue to unfold across the U.S., and around the world, essential water & wastewater service providers are facing unforeseen...
7 Apr. 2020
Research Note
Brief research summaries of market development or company strategies.
Big Deals Hard to Come by in Municipal Water
At the close of 2019, two large municipal utility acquisitions were taken off the table underscoring the challenges of large deals involving municipal systems. On...
23 Jan. 2020
Research Note
Brief research summaries of market development or company strategies.
NW Natural Jumps into Texas Water Market
On 31 October 2019, investor-owned utility (IOU) NW Natural made a move well beyond its current geographic footprint with the acquisition of Texas-based T&W Water...
6 Dec. 2019
Research Note
Brief research summaries of market development or company strategies.
Central States Water Quietly Builds Utility Platform
Bluefield’s Q3 2019, quarterly tracking and analysis of IOU M&A activity in the U.S. has uncovered new market entries for investor-owned utility Central States Water...
16 Oct. 2019
Research Note
Brief research summaries of market development or company strategies.
Aqua America Lands Big Fish in Wastewater
On 17 September 2019, Aqua America Inc. announced that its subsidiary, Aqua Pennsylvania Wastewater, signed an asset purchase agreement with the Delaware County Regional Water...
8 Oct. 2019
Research Note
Brief research summaries of market development or company strategies.