'Private-Public Partnerships' a Viable Solution for the Cash-Strapped Water Industry.

PALO ALTO, Calif. -- With "private-public partnerships" (PPP) helping to resolve operational and funding issues, municipalities increasingly becoming less apprehensive about entering into such ventures. PPPs essentially help municipalities utilize private-sector resources so that the water industry can upgrade or replace deteriorating infrastructure and operate more efficiently.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan (http://www.environment.frost.com), U.S. Water Financing Opportunities, reveals that revenue in this market totaled $1 billion in 1999 and projects to reach $2.13 billion by 2008.

If you are interested in a virtual brochure, which provides manufacturers, end-users and other industry participants an overview of the latest analysis of the U.S. Water Financing Opportunities, send an e-mail to Melina Gonzalez, Corporate Communications, at [e-mail] with the following information: your full name, company name, title, telephone number, fax number and e-mail. Upon receipt of the above information, an overview will be sent to you via e-mail.

"Municipalities' faith in the business model of PPPs is emphasized by the fact that out of almost 500 contracts that came up for renewal between 1998 and 2001, about 98 percent were renewed by the same or competing company," says Frost & Sullivan's Senior Consulting Analyst, Usha Srinivasan.

As municipalities explain their needs and expectations clearly to the private sectors, their partnerships function smoothly. This opens up the future market for more PPPs.

Most plants outsource operations and maintenance to the private sector or negotiate with a private firm to design, build and operate their facilities.

Although there are five main participants dominating the water industry, there is space for new entrants. However, the "long-term, slow-return" market does pose some difficulties, restricting cash flow within the company for the new participants.

Given that user fees are a major source of income for water facilities, they are challenged to provide cost-effective services -- including maintaining the quality of water and complying with federal regulations regarding water treatment -- without increasing user fees.

This is where PPPs come in, and the investments in water facilities by private companies can prove highly beneficial to both the companies and the municipalities.

Investors are also interested in emerging technologies that show potential for growth. These include not only drinking water and wastewater treatment technologies to improve the quality of the water and reduce effluent discharge contaminants respectively, but other filtration technologies for water reuse and recycling in line with water conservation practices, any technology that can reduce operations and energy cost, incorporating drinking water monitoring systems in line with water security initiatives and technologies to consolidate metering, billing, and management.

"The collective abilities of the municipalities, regulators, equipment and service providers and investment firms can complement one another in their areas of strength to better serve the communities," concludes Srinivasan.

The U.S. Water Financing Opportunities report that is also part of the Total Water & Wastewater Treatment subscription analyzes in detail the segments of the water industry, such as drinking water and waste water sectors of the municipal market and the "operations and maintenance" company sector. It provides strategies to develop and maintain market share, explore direct and indirect investment options and also an overview of the emerging technologies that attract investment. There are other complementary reports to the above that will enhance the understanding in various aspects of DW and WW technologies, such as the "Us Water and Wastewater Treatment Equipment Market -- an End-User Analysis," "Advanced Water Treatment Markets" and "US Desalination Market," etc. Executive summaries and interviews are available to the press.

Frost & Sullivan, a global growth consulting company, has been supporting clients' expansion for more than four decades. Our market expertise covers a broad spectrum of industries, while our portfolio of advisory competencies include custom strategic consulting, market intelligence and management training. Our mission is to forge partnerships with our clients' management teams, to deliver market insights, and to create value and drive growth through innovative approaches. Frost & Sullivan's network of consultants, industry experts, corporate trainers and support staff, spans the globe with offices in every major country.

U.S. Water Financing Opportunities

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The following are some of the key industry participants in the O&M market:

American Water

Operations Management International (OMI)

Severn Trent Services

United Water

Veolia Water North America 

Keywords in this release: water financing, U.S., private public partnership, PPP, operations & maintenance, O&M, DBO, State Revolving Fund, SRF, "long-term, slow-return," research, information, market, trends, technology, service, forecast.