Contents: (1) Intro.; (2) Background: History of Fed. Involvement; Wastewater; Drinking Water; USDA Assistance Programs; (3) Water Infrastructure Debate: Invest. Needs; EPA Needs Surveys; Drinking Water and Wastewater Needs; Future Investment; Gap Analysis Report; (4) Issues: (a) Priorities: What are the Problems to be Solved?: Infrastructure Replace.; Security; Funding Other Priorities; (b) Fed. Role; (c) Delivering Fed. Support: Admin. Entity; Type of Assistance Provided: Grants and Loans; Fed. Funds for Private Infrastructure Systems; Fed. Tax Issues; Fed. Cross-Cutting Requirements; Set-Asides; Allotment of Funds and Congress. Directed Project Grants; (d) Res. on New Technol.; (5) Congress. and Admin. Activity, 107th-110th Congress. Tables.

Solving the world's water problems is proving to be one of the greatest investment opportunities of our time. Already, world water supplies are inadequate to meet demand, and the problem is going to get much worse in the years ahead. The World Bank estimates that 1.1 billion people lack access to safe drinking water and about 50 percent of the world's hospital beds are populated by people who have contracted water-borne diseases. If present consumption rates continue, in 25 years the world will be using 90 percent of all available freshwater. To address the problem, trillions of dollars will need to be invested in water infrastructure projects. And while the problems are most acute in developing and rapidly growing economies, there are huge water infrastructure needs in industrialized countries, as well. In the U.S. alone, it's estimated that more than $1 trillion will be needed for water and wastewater infrastructure projects. In Planet Water, water investment expert Steven Hoffmann explains the dynamics driving the water crisis and identifies investment opportunities in various sectors of the water industry. Hoffman provides investors with the knowledge and insights they need to make informed investments in water utilities, as well as companies providing water treatment services; infrastructure services; water monitoring and analytics; and desalination services. He also discusses mutual funds and ETFs that specialize in water stocks. Investing in the water industry is certainly no pie-in-the-sky idea. Over the past five years, many water stocks have exploded in value and water stocks as a whole have outperformed the S&P 500 by a substantial amount. In Planet Water, Hoffmann provides investors with everything they need to profit from this fast-growing industry in the years ahead.

This report draws together and summarises existing information on the benefits of water and sanitation.

Part of OECD Water Policy and Finance Set - Buy all four reports and save over 30% on buying separately! The provision of water supply, sanitation and wastewater services generates substantial benefits for public health, the economy and the environment. Benefits from the provision of basic water supply and sanitation services such as those implied by the millennium development goals are massive and far outstrip costs. Benefit-to-cost ratios have been reported to be as high as 7 to 1 for basic water and sanitation services in developing countries. Wastewater treatment interventions can generate significant benefits for public health, the environment and for certain economic sectors such as fisheries, tourism and property markets, although these benefits may be less obvious to individuals and more difficult to assess in monetary terms. Finally, protecting water resources from pollution and managing water supply and demand in a sustainable manner can deliver clear and sizeable benefits for both investors in the services and end water users. Investments in managing water resources are going to be increasingly needed in the context of increasing water scarcity at the global level. The full magnitude of the benefits of water services is seldom considered for a number of reasons. Non-economic benefits that are difficult to quantify but that are of high value to the concerned individuals and society, i.e. non-use values, dignity, social status, cleanliness and overall well-being are frequently under-estimated. In addition, benefit values are highly location-specific (depending on the prevalence of water-related diseases or the condition of receiving water bodies, for example) and cannot be easily aggregated. Visit the IWA WaterWiki to share material related to this title: http://www.iwawaterwiki.org/xwiki/bin/view/Articles/GoldenTruthsaboutWaterSanitationandHygiene

This book unveils how the world in the twenty-first century will need to manage our most fundamental resource need, water. It outlines how stakeholders can improve water use in their homes, their businesses, and the world. In particular, it focuses on the role of stakeholders in crafting a twenty-first century paradigm for water. Investors not only drive innovation through direct investment in new technologies but also by highlighting risk and driving reporting and disclosure within the business community. Water Tech highlights the business drivers to address water related issues. These include business disruption, regulatory risk and reputational risk along with opportunities in the commercialization of innovative technologies such as desalination and water reuse and treatment. The authors argue that through increased attention on water scarcity through activities such as reporting and disclosure we are now accelerating innovation in the water industry. They show how we are just now capturing the true cost and value of water and this is creating opportunities for investors in the water sector. The text takes the reader through key aspects of emerging innovative technologies along with case studies and key issues on the path to commercialization. A roadmap of the opportunities in the water sector is presented based on interviews with leading authorities in the water field including innovators, investors, legal, regulatory experts and businesses.