Tom Decker

Tom Decker, vice president of CH2M Hill

For example, in the water/wastewater industry, "One reason the market stays so good is the tremendous backlog of work," said Tom Decker, vice president, CH2M Hill. Decker predicted about a 4% growth for this year and said the tremendous need for drinking water and for improvements to infrastructure mean even more growth in the years ahead.

The lead article in the fall 2008 issue of Valve Magazine, "2009 Outlook: Riding Out the Storm," had a section on the 2009 water/wastewater market, which included information presented by Tom Decker, a vice president with CH2M Hill, at VMA's 2008 Annual Market Outlook Workshop. Decker identified opportunities in desalination, pointing out that while only 1% of the world's useable water supply is provided by desalination, worldwide capacity is expected to double by 2016.

Tom Decker, a vice president at CH2M Hill, pegs public awareness of the aging infrastructure problem at a "2" or "3" on a scale of 10. "The infrastructure is largely underground; there is no real appreciation for it," he says.
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Decker believes that "what we need is a single, comprehensive national strategy to prioritize investment, not necessarily run one that is totally run by the federal government.

Speaker: Tom Decker, Vice President, CH2M Hill

Tom Decker, Saint Louis '69 Vice-President, CH2Mhill

Speaking at the 93rd annual meeting of the Water and Wastewater Equipment Manufacturers Association (WWEMA) Friday, 9 November, CH2M Hill Vice President Thomas E. Decker reported that water and wastewater construction spending grew 16 to 17 percent during the first eight months of 2001 over the prior year period and predicted that the growth will slow slightly during the final months of the year.

"The year 2002 is almost anybody's guess," said Decker, who is the manager of CH2M Hill's Water Business Group."A likely scenario is high single-digit growth."

He said water supply and wastewater treatment spending in the year 2000 grew about 10 percent over 1999.

Described by one WWEMA official as a "leading futurist in the water and wastewater industry," Decker predicted that water and wastewater project spending may go into a decline during the next year and a half because it tends to lag contractions in the general economy by 12 to 18 months.However, he said the industry may "dodge the bullet" during this recession because he expects the economy to bounce back quickly and a short recession in the general economy may fail to trigger a decline in spending by local water and sewer service providers.

The water and wastewater construction and new equipment business in the United States is about a $30 billion industry, according to material presented by Decker, with about $19 billion spent on construction, $8 billion on new equipment and $3 billion on engineering.Americans spend about $100 billion annually on water and wastewater construction, equipment and services, of which about $60 billion is in user fees and taxes.

Spurring demand for new water and wastewater spending is population expansion both in the United States and worldwide, new regulations, demand to improve environmental conditions, the likelihood of increased federal spending, and so-called "nontraditional" projects, such as energy production water and wastewater treatment, upgrading systems on military bases and "giant" projects like the Everglades cleanup and CALFED.

Decker said there's been a trend toward equalized spending on water and wastewater projects.Historically, 60 percent of new construction spending has been on wastewater projects, he said, primarily because of a regulatory emphasis focused on treating used water before returning it to the environment.

More recently, however, he said government funding and regulations have been aimed at drinking water quality, spurring spending on water treatment and distribution projects.Now, he said, about 55 percent of new construction is for wastewater projects and 45 percent for new water systems.

"Water is still the kid brother to wastewater," he said."But it is closing the gap."

New water supply spending in the United States, he said, will be:

1. 45 percent by large utilities (with more than 50,000 customers)

2. 32 percent by medium sized utilities (3,300 to 50,000 customers)

3. 23 percent by small utilities (less than 3,300 customers)