Planet Water Investing in the World's Most Valuable Resource

by Hoffmann, Steve

• ISBN13: 9780470277409
• ISBN10: 0470277408
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-04-06
• Publisher: Wiley

Summary

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.

Author Biography

Steve Hoffmann is the founder of WaterTech Capital, a private investment company that specializes exclusively in consulting and investment opportunities within the water industry. With over twenty-five years of experience in the water industry—as a water rate designer, resource economist, entrepreneur, and investor—Hoffmann has witnessed firsthand the dramatic transition of the water business. He was one of the earliest financiers to recognize the potential of water as an investment theme, and has been a contributing editor to the Water Investment Newsletter for more than fourteen years. Hoffmann is also cofounder and principal architect of the Palisades Water Indexes, which serve as the tracking indexes for several leading water ETFs.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. xi
Water	p. 1
Water: Prerequisite for Life and Living	p. 3
Prerequisite for Life	p. 4
Prerequisite for Living	p. 8
The Global Water Condition	p. 11
The Human Cost of Waterborne Disease	p. 12
Supply and Demand	p. 13
Regional Fundamentals	p. 14
Water Institutions	p. 15
Overview of Water Regulation in the United States	p. 17
Global Water Regulations	p. 20
Nongovernmental Organizations	p. 21
The Institutional Impact on Water Investing	p. 22
The Role of Water in Economic Growth	p. 23
Public Good, Commodity, or Resource?	p. 29
What Is Water?	p. 30
Water as a Public (Social) Good	p. 31
Water as a Commodity	p. 32
The Answer: Water as a Resource	p. 34
The Cost of Clean Water	p. 41
How Big Is the Universe?	p. 42
The Global Cost of Clean Water	p. 42
From the Whole to the Parts	p. 46
The Transition from Cost to Price	p. 49
Investing in Water	p. 51
The Business of Water	p. 53
Water versus Wastewater	p. 54
Functional Categories	p. 55
Water-Related Applications	p. 58
Drivers of the Water Industry	p. 65
Water Utilities	p. 77
A Brief History	p. 78
Regulatory Providers Face Regulatory Burdens	p. 80
Nonregulated Activities	p. 81
The Future of Water Utilities	p. 82
Foreign Water Utilities	p. 83
Conclusions	p. 85
Centralized Water and Wastewater Treatment	p. 91
The Basics	p. 93
Centralized Treatment	p. 94
Treatment Chemicals	p. 99
Mixed Oxidants	p. 110
Carbon	p. 113
Resins: Ion Exchange	p. 115
Decentralized Water and Wastewater Treatment	p. 121
Decentralized Treatment	p. 122
The Roots of Decentralized Treatment	p. 131
Water Softeners and Salinity	p. 144
Groundwater Treatment	p. 148
Membrane Bioreactors: The Future of Decentralized Treatment	p. 150
Water Infrastructure	p. 155
The Distribution System	p. 156
Stormwater Infrastructure	p. 164
Investment Components	p. 168
Pipeline Rehabilitation	p. 169
Flow Control and Pumps	p. 171
Water Analytics	p. 179
Metering	p. 180
Monitoring, Measuring, and Testing	p. 183
Asset Management	p. 190
Water Resource Management	p. 197
Water Resource Management Defined	p. 198
The Principle of Sustainability	p. 199
Remediation	p. 206
Water Supply: Reservoirs and Dams	p. 209
Irrigation	p. 213
Desalination	p. 219
The Promise of Desalination	p. 219
The Process of Desalination	p. 220
Water Beyond the Twenty-First Century	p. 227
Emerging Issues	p. 229
Unregulated Contaminants	p. 230
Biosolids Management: There's Money in Sludge	p. 241
Biotechnology	p. 242
Regulation	p. 243
Regulating Nonpoint Sources of Water Contamination	p. 247
Water Reuse	p. 251
Water Conservation	p. 254
Nanotechnology	p. 257
Algal Toxins	p. 257
Measuring Chlorophyll-a	p. 259
Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products	p. 260
Water as an Asset Class	p. 263
Is Water an Asset Class?	p. 264
What is an Asset Class?	p. 264
Climate Change and the Hydrologic (Re)Cycle	p. 275
Planning for Uncertainty	p. 276
Impacts on Water Quality	p. 276
Occurrence of Drought	p. 279
Investing in Drought	p. 281
Forward-Looking Thoughts for Water Investors	p. 283
Is Water the Next Oil?	p. 284
Water and the Global Economic Crisis	p. 289
Picking Water Stocks	p. 297
The Age of Ecology-Again or Finally	p. 301
Water Contaminants	p. 305
Acronyms and Abbreviations	p. 313
Metric Conversions and Flow Equivalents	p. 317
Glossary	p. 319
Notes	p. 329
About the Author	p. 335
Index	p. 337
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