Water Finance, Public Responsibility and Private Opportunity. Grigg, N. S. (2011

A $200 billion business in the US alone, Grigg explained the business and science of water, from a macro and global and environmental perspective to a microeconomic perspective. Grigg divided the very comprehensive topic of water into three categories: a utility; a current events issue of crises and public concerns; and a complex regional, national, and international policy preoccupation. In all three cases, water is intertwined with politics, as a  market-driven commodity, a precious natural resource under governmental management and regulation, and a citizen's right. Similarly, Grigg isolated water governance into three groups-- (1) economic, with commercial and industrial uses, (2) social, including public and recreational functions, and (3) environmental, for human and animal habitats. All these elements, with stakeholders, producers, customers, regulators, managers, constructors, maintainers, and advocates make up the Structure of the Water Business, the title of Part One of the book.

The remaining two parts, Driving Forces and Issues in the Water Industry and Water-Industry Business, Careers, and Investments detailed the above topics. Part One covered the driving trends in the water industry: water supply, water quality, wastewater, stormwater, flood control, irrigation, instream flows, dams and reservoirs, and sea level changes. Numerous estimates have circulated about the aging water infrastructure in the United States and elsewhere. To finance needed repairs and replacements, Grigg described the revenues derived from water sales and the drivers that will motivate structural improvements, such as water quality concerns and regulatory requirements with the many laws related to water.

Part Three, Water-Industry Business, Careers, and Investments discussed the industries active in water infrastructure and operations and maintenance--construction,  engineering, and technical and professional services. More specifically, Grigg listed water equipment, from the largest, such as dams, to the smallest, such as hydrants, meters, and valves. Grigg documented the firms that bundle water services: CH2M Hill, Tetra Tech, Black and Veatch, MWH, HDR,CDM, PBS&J (AtkinsGlobal), Michael Baker Corporation, Malcolm Pirnie, Inc., and Gannett Fleming.

Entrepreneurs have attempted to capitalize on water ventures, American Water Development, Inc. in Denver in the 1990s, Aaron Million currently in Colorado, and T. Boone Pickens' Mesa Water concern in Texas in 2010. Regional enterprises in the form of water exchanges and banks demonstrate more cooperative mechanisms to sell water. Additionally, Grigg addressed the irony of stagnant tap water sales and growing bottled water businesses. Investing in water presents risks, because of its regional nature. However, numerous jobs exist in the industry, from management, engineers, scientists, information technology specialists, water lawyers, and financial and administrative managers.

Grigg, N. S. (2011). Water finance: Public responsibilities and private opportunities. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.