Black & Veatch Provides Recommendations for Overcoming Economic Pressures in the Water Industry

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Global roundtable with 90 water industry thought leaders provides insights
Black & Veatch today provided sixkey recommendations for overcoming economic pressures in the water industryduring the Water Environment Federation’s (WEF) WEFTEC® 2011 event in LosAngeles

Kansas City, MO - 17 October, 2011 -- Black & Veatch today provided sixkey recommendations for overcoming economic pressures in the water industryduring the Water Environment Federation’s (WEF) WEFTEC® 2011 event in LosAngeles. The recommendations are in a just-released whitepaper by Dan McCarthy, President and CEO of Black & Veatch’s globalwater business.

The recommendations come from Black & Veatch’s Water Dialogue series,which was launched at WEFTEC last year. The high-level roundtable discussionswith about 90 water industry thought leaders were held during six globalconferences. Included in the findings from the dialogues are actions andprocesses to help water industry leaders manage current economic pressures.

“Increasing water infrastructure investments will provide much needed jobsand avert looming disasters in the process,” said McCarthy. “While roads,bridges, and rail are important investments, the most vital infrastructure isthe delivery and treatment of water. In many places future water resources areunderfunded or not funded at all.”

Six key recommendations emerged from discussions during the various venues.Participants in the dialogues said that in order to adapt and lead in thesedifficult economic times, water utility and other industry leaders should:

• Find new business opportunities or revenue streams and then, onceidentified, put them into play
• Determine the best source or mix of new and established financingoptions
• Facilitate innovation to deal with the “new norm” and to discover the nextbig idea
• Collaborate more closely with all stakeholders and create “one voice” forwater
• Reach out to educate the public about water issues
• Optimize assets to control costs

“Economic pressures have challenged all of us to think differently anddevelop new strategies,” McCarthy said. “With the current level of funding formunicipal water systems it calls for a ‘new deal’ type of arrangement – acombination of investors unlike any other approach tried before. History is nolonger the guiding light for managing this precious resource.”

Links to the white paper, other background materials and published articlesabout each individual roundtable discussion are also available on Black &Veatch’s thought-leadership microsite:www.waterdialogue.com. A link toongoing activities at WEFTEC 2011:www.weftecdiary.com  

Editor’s Notes:

• Roundtable participants included government officials; municipal andprivate water/wastewater utility leaders; financial advisers; technicalexperts, suppliers; non-profit agency representatives; manufacturers; tradeassociation leaders and academics. They came from the followingcountries:  Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, India, Ireland,Japan, Puerto Rico, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, TheNetherlands, The Philippines, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and UnitedStates
• The six-part series took place from October 2010 to August 2011 withroundtable discussions in New Orleans, La.; Berlin, Germany; Adelaide,Australia; Stockholm, Sweden; and Washington, D.C. (two sessions).
• Dan McCarthy will be part of a panel of top water professionals discussingthe future of water at an 8 a.m. session on October 18 at WEFTEC. The moderatoris former Assistant Administrator for Water at the U.S. EPA, G. Tracy MehanIII, Principal of the Cadmus Group, and the panel also includes GretchenMcClain, President of ITT Fluid and Motion Control, Laurent Auguste, Presidentand CEO of Veolia Water North Americas, David Gray, Managing Director of GlobalIndustrial Services for Credit Suisse, and WEF Executive Director JeffEger.
• Matt Bond, 2010-2011 WEF President-Elect, is an Associate Vice President inBlack & Veatch’s global water business.

About Black & Veatch
Black & Veatch is a global leader in the consulting, engineering,construction and operation of what the world needs now and in the future in the crucial areas of energy, water and telecommunications and in providingup-to-the-minute services in the fast changing federal and environmentalmarkets. Founded in 1915, the employee-owned, $2.3 billion company operates outof more than 110 offices worldwide and has completed projects in more than 100countries.www.bv.com

About WEF & WEFTEC
Formed in 1928, the Alexandria, Va.-based Water Environment Federation (WEF) isa not-for-profit technical and educational organization with 36,000 individualmembers and 75 affiliated Member Associations representing water qualityprofessionals around the world. WEF and its Member Associations proudly work toachieve our mission of preserving and enhancing the global water environment.WEFTEC—WEF’s Annual Technical Exhibition and Conference—is recognized as theworld’s largest annual water quality event and provides the latest technologiesand services for water environment preservation, restoration, andsustainability. WEFTEC 2011 is taking place at the Los Angeles ConventionCenter, October 15-19.  Visitwww.wef.org and www.weftec.orgfor details.

Media Contact Information:
GEORGE MINTER+1 913 458 8001p| +1 913 972 8811m| MinterGA@bv.com   24-HOUR MEDIA HOTLINE| +1 866 496 9149

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