Water industry

The water industry includes water engineering, operations, water and wastewater plant construction, equipment supply and specialist water treatment chemicals, among others.

The water industry is at the service of other industries, e.g. of the food sector which produces beverages such as bottled water.

Organizational structure

There are a variety of organizational structures for the water industry, with countries usually having one dominant traditional structure, which usually changes only gradually over time.

Ownership of water infrastructure and operations

• local government – the most usual structure worldwide, public utility
• national government – in many developing countries, especially smaller ones
• private ownership – more common in the developed world, see for example Water privatisation in England and Wales
• co-operative ownership and related NGO structures, public utility

Operations

• local government operating the system through a municipal department, municipal company, or inter-municipal company
• local government outsources operations to private sector, i.e. private water operators
• national government operations
• private water operators own the system
  • BOTs – private sector building parts of a water system (such as a wastewater treatment plant) and operating it for an agreed period before transferring to public sector ownership and operation.
• cooperation and NGO operators

Functions

• Integrated water system (water supply, sewerage (sanitation) system, and wastewater treatment)
• Separation by function (e.g. Dutch system where sewerage run by city, water supply by municipal or provincial companies, and water treatment by water boards), though some Water Supply Companies have merged beyond municipal or provincial borders.
• Other separation (e.g. Munich, separated into three companies for bulk water supply, water and wastewater network operations, and retail)