In the last two decades, the environment in which water suppliers operate has changed dramatically. The Southwest endured the longest drought in centuries. São Paulo, Latin America’s largest city, almost ran out of water due to drought.
A hurricane knocked out the water system in Asheville, NC. And, Thames Water, the largest water and wastewater utility in Great Britain, teetered on the brink of bankruptcy. Global climate change not only produces severe storms, droughts and deluges but also puts stress on water operators.
The water and wastewater industry will have to overcome more severe challenges, some due to past industry inaction, but more due to natural and economic conditions over which it has no control. As Dorothy put it, “Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore.”
The book’s title tells it all: The Water Business, a business being (more or less) an organization (government or private) that produces a product or service which it sells to customers.
It is a relatively short handbook or primer on how the industry is organized, how it acquires and treats and sells the product, the natural resources it uses, its customers, how it prices the product, how it raises money, social consequences of water policy and the new landscape that will make the business more exciting and challenging than it has been in two centuries.
Details and Features:
AUTHOR: LEONARD HYMAN
ISBN: 979-8-3507-3059-3
7 x 10 inches
Paperback
334 pages
2nd ed. (c) 2026
Table of Contents
Preface xii
PART ONE: THE BIG PICTURE 1
Chapter 1 The Big Picture 3
PART TWO: WATER BASICS 13
Chapter 2 Definitions 15
Chapter 3 Organization, Regulation and Finance 28
PART THREE: OPERATIONS 37
Chapter 4 Water Operations 39
Chapter 5 Wastewater Operations 51
Chapter 6 Supply, Demand and Suppliers 57
PART FOUR: DEVELOPMENT AND STRUCTURE 75
Chapter 7 The Old World 77
Chapter 8 The Eastern United States 83
Chapter 9 Western Water 98
Chapter 10 Private Water Companies 118
Chapter 11 Water and Health 127
Chapter 12 Federal Regulation 136
PART FIVE: REGULATION, PRICING AND ECONOMICS 147
Chapter 13 Public Utility Regulation 149
Chapter 14 The Ratemaking Process 154
Chapter 15 Rate of Return 167
Chapter 16 Water Economics and Tariffs 181
Chapter 17 Water Rights and WaterTrading 198
PART SIX: CORPORATE ORGANIZATION,
FINANCING AND ACCOUNTING 209
Chapter 18 Basics of Organization and Finance 211
Chapter 19 Income Statement 224
Chapter 20 Balance Sheet 232
Chapter 21 Cash Flows 242
Chapter 22 Financial Analysis of Debt 252
Chapter 23 Financial Analysis of Common Stock 262
Chapter 24 Assessing Results 283
PART SEVEN: MOVING FORWARD 293
Chapter 25 Form Follows Function 295
Chapter 26 Challenges and Opportunities 311
Chapter 27 The Road Ahead 320
Index 326
List of Tables
1-1. Monthly expenditures for average family. 9
3-1. Revenue requirements example ($). 34
4-1. Water company price and cost comparisons (2020). 49
6-1. World water inventory (%) 57
6-2. World fresh water inventory (excluding ice) (km3 and %). 58
6-3. Estimated residential water use per day (gallons per capita). 61
6-4. Average daily water use in the United States (billions of gallons). 62
6-5. Average daily use of groundwater in the United States (billions of gallons). 63
6-6. Irrigated acreage and water use per acre. 64
6-7. Water use per capital (gallons per day). 65
6-8. Water usage and economic indicators (1900-2020). 67
6-9. Size and number of water systems. 68
6-10. Bottled water market in the U.S.A. 70
8-1. Water supply in Philadelphia. 90
10-1. Large private water companies (2020). 124
11-1. Water-related diseases. 133
11-2. Climate impact on water-related diseases. 134
14-1. Water utility assets at end of year. 156
14-2. Liabilities and capital at year end. 156
14-3. Revenues and expenses for year. 157
14-4. Cost of capital calculation (%). 158
14-5. Construction work in progress not in rate base. 162
14-6. Construction work in progress in rate base. 163
15-1. Similar companies with different finances. 168
15-2. Hypothetical returns. 170
15-3.
Average return on rate base and equity allowed in rate cases
and corporate bond yields (%) by five year periods. 177
16-1. Costs of production for competitive firm ($). 186
16-2. Cost of production for water supplier ($). 189
16-3. Selected unmetered water and wastewater tariffs in New York City. 195
16-4. Selected water billing rates in San Diego. 196
16-5. Sewer billing rates in San Diego. 197
17-1. Primary water trading regions in the West. 202
18-1. Universal Water in normal and recessionary conditions. 217
18-2. Cash flows for A and B ($). 221
19-1. Consolidated statement of income for investor-owned utility. 227
19-2. Statement of revenue and expense for government-owned utility. 230
20-1. Investor-owned water company balance sheet. 234
20-2. Government-owned water utility balance sheet. 238
21-1. Cash flow statement for investor-owned utility. 245
21-2. Government-owned utility cash flow statement. 248
22-1.
Financial and operating data for debt analysis of hypothetical municipal
and investor-owned water utilities ($ millions unless otherwise stated). 255
22-2. Replace old plant with new (current $). 259
22-3. Add new plant to old (current $). 260
23-1. Operational and financial data. 266
23-2. Operations analysis. 268
23-3. Sources of funds used in construction. 274
24-1. Monthly water and wastewater bills for 2023. 285
24-2. Municipal water and wastewater utilities (median values). 287
24-3. Yields, ratios and returns (1965-1999) (%). 288
24-4. Yields, ratios and returns (2000-2023) (%). 289
25-1. Breaking up the industry by service offerings. 298
26-1. Challenges to the water and wastewater industries. 312
26-2. Opportunities (as seen by Mueller Water Products and Xylem). 317
List of Figures
1-1.
Capital spending for water and wastewater (millions of 1967 dollars)
by five year periods (1916-1920 to 2016-20). 5
1-2. Projected precipitation patterns due to climate change. 6
1-3. Malware infections (millions). 8
1-4. Real water prices and family income in the USA (1985=100). 10
2-1. The hydrological cycle. 19
2-2. Aquifers in the United States. 20
2-3. The Ogallala Aquifer. 21
2-4. Watershed. 22
2-5. Watersheds of North America. 23
2-6. Wells. 25
3-1. Water and wastewater (sewage) systems. 29
4-1. Water treatment. 42
4-2. Water pressure. 44
4-3. Simple waters system. 46
4-5. Denver water system. 47
4-6.
Annual annual water and wastewater bill for residential customers
in 30 cities by quintile (2019) ($). 50
5-1. Wastewater (sewer) system. 53
5-2. Seven steps for sewage treatment. 54
5-3. Primary- Secondary-Tertiary. 55
6-1. World hydrological cycle (103 km3 per year). 59
6-2. Annual precipitation in the Continental United States (inches). 60
6-3. Water usage, consumptive use and real gross domestic product (1900=100). 66
8-1. New York City Water System. 85
9-1. The Hundredth Meridian. 99
9-2. Five weather regions in the Continental United States. 101
9-3. Southern California water. 108
10-1. Water industry consolidation. 126
15-1. Market risk vs actual market return (example). 174
15-2. Allowed returns vs interest rates (%). 176
15-3.
Average allowed rates of return on rate base and equity
and corporate bond yields by five year periods (%). 178
16-1. Supply and demand diagram. 183
16-2. Water supply and demand. 184
16-3. Fixed and variable costs ($). 187
16-4. Variable and marginal costs per unit produced ($). 187
16-5. Optimal production point. 188
16-6. Fixed and variable costs or hypothetical water supplier ($). 190
16-7. Water supplier average and marginal cost and price per unit ($). 191
16-8. Hourly water usage example (gallons). 192
16-9. Use of reservoir during off peak and on peak periods. 194
17-1. Most active water trading regions in West. 203
17-2. California water trade prices ($/acre foot). 204
18-1. Universal Water. 215
23-1. York Water 2022 Annual Report. 269
24-1. Water costs for households in USA (1965=100). 284
25-1.
Estimated price of water by ownership of utility and
population of service area (2023 $). 301
25-2.
Price and operating costs for publicly owned water suppliers
by size of population served (2023 $/ thousand gallons). 305
