Reese Tisdale and the Bluefield team of water experts discuss Digital Twins—hype or reality—and what the future holds. While the concept of virtual clones of operating assets (e.g., treatment plants, pumps, pipe networks) has been around for more than two decades, their applications are only recently gaining momentum in the broader water sector.

Keith, Eric, and Reese talk about the signposts that indicate growth, the competitive landscape, and how companies are positioning in this burgeoning market segment.

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In this episode, Reese Tisdale sits down with Bluefield Vice President Keith Hays to talk about what we call “Big Water.” Veolia and Suez, two of the largest water solutions providers in the world are in merger negotiations again, and Reese and Keith discuss their perspectives on the proposed deal and companies themselves. They also get into whether a marriage between the two water behemoths is a good, or bad, thing for the water industry.

In late August, Veolia made an unsolicited offer to purchase French rival Suez. Veolia offered to buy a 29.9% stake in Suez from Engie SA, the first step toward a full takeover to create a water and wastewater treatment company with more than 40 billion euros in revenue. And it’s not the first time, Suez tried acquiring Veolia back in 2012.

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Bluefield water experts get into the hot topic of natural disasters and related water & wastewater infrastructure management.  Since 1980 the number of these disasters has steadily increased. From 1980 to 2019, the U.S has sustained 258 climate-related events. These resource-intensive events include hurricanes, flooding, winter storms, and wildfires which bring on more acute challenges for cities and municipalities.

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It’s all about deal flow and recent M&A activity in the water sector. Bluefield’s Eric Bindler and Mariel Marchand share their perspectives on utility acquisitions, utility O&M, and digital water transactions in what can be considered a new environment, even for water. While talking about broader trends, some of the companies discussed include Aquatic Informatics, Danaher, XPV, and Veolia.

Questions raised in the discussion:

In this episode, we discuss the hot topic of wastewater epidemiology and the heightened role it plays in our world today. Keith Hays, Vice President of Bluefield Research, discusses his latest research on pinpoint detection of pathogens and contagions in wastewater and the potential economic & healthcare benefits it could bring to society.

Key questions addressed:

In this episode, it’s all about money, that is, how exposed are utilities, their budgets, and spending in a recession? Erin Bonney Casey, Research Director for Bluefield, answers key financial questions about public utilities, which serve about 85% of the total market.

Cybersecurity is the issue of the day. Bluefield’s President & CEO Reese Tisdale sits down with Bluefield’s Eric Bindler, to talk cybersecurity, water infrastructure, and industry concerns.

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Is toilet paper more expensive than oil? Sure feels like it these days. This episode is all about water for energy, the oil patch, and the impacts of geopolitics, pandemics, and recession. Yikes! Get Bluefield analyst Nathan Goldstein’s take on the state of things.