Water, the one commodity on the planet that everyone must have to in order to live. Simply put, no water means no life. You would think that something so important would be thought of in much higher regard. But for many of us in the developed world, we simply take water for granted. Its always there when we turn the handle on the faucet. This is not the case however for nearly 800 million people who lack access to clean water. For these people water is a daily concern – will I get enough water today to drink and cook with and will it be clean? So why does it not receive more attention and a top-billing status like other commodities and investments?
There is a finite amount of water on the planet and an ever increasing demand is starting to outstrip the current fresh water supply. Great disparities exist between water rich and water poor regions. There are those predicting that future wars may be over access to water. These concerns have driven an increased awareness of water. So what is the best approach to investing in water? In my opinion, investment opportunities abound if you go with the flow. So what do I mean by go with the flow? Simply put, I break down water investing into three categories based upon how we get our water, use water and clean up dirty water.
![Business Charts](https://yatesenvironmentalservices.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/portfoliomanagement.jpg?w=286&h=190)
WATER INVESTMENT CATEGORIES
- Infrastructure: Moving water around
- Water Treatment: Making more fresh or drinkable Water
- Wastewater Treatment: Cleaning water used by people and companies
Infrastructure
This category covers all aspects of transporting water to homes and companies and the subsequent transport of wastewater to treatment plants. Items in this category include pumps, piping systems, and storage tanks.
Water Treatment
Treatment technologies and services that pertain to the treatment of water for human consumption (drinking), food & beverage preparation, and manufacturing or industrial processing requirements. Treatment areas include, but not limited to, filtration, reverse osmosis systems, multi-process treatment systems, disinfection equipment, chemicals and providers of treatment services.
Wastewater Treatment
Any treatment technology and service associated with the clean up of dirty or wastewater. This category would include things like the treatment of human waste, water treatment from factories, treatment of water generated from the production of oil & gas.
![wastewater](https://yatesenvironmentalservices.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/wastewater1.jpg?w=342&h=150)
Researching trends, technologies, companies and people in these categories will allow you to invest with more confidence and provides diversification wtihin the overall water category. Future posts will provide in-depth analysis of specific companies and market segments for each of these categories. But this short introduction should get you thinking about how to approach your personal water based investments.
What experiences have you had with investing in the water industry?