Bluefield Research
Bluefield Research is a company that is part of the pulse of the water sector. Here we bring together everything it publishes on Smart Water Magazine: its news, its blogs and the events it takes part in.
AI boom to drive €6.8 billion in water spend for European data centers by 2036
Water-related spend across Europe’s data center sector is projected to reach €6.8 billion by 2036. This increase is driven by the growth of AI, which is placing additional pressure on power grids, water resources, and permitting systems, according to a new report from Bluefield Research, titled Europe Water for Data Centers: Market Trends, Opportunities, and Forecasts, […]
Europe’s stormwater market to climb to €643 billion by 2036, still 70% short of needed investment
Europe’s stormwater infrastructure is at a breaking point. Decades of underinvestment, accelerating climate risk, and expanding urban development have transformed a routine municipal function into one of the continent’s most pressing fiscal challenges, with flood damages now averaging €22 billion a year and rising. According to a new report from Bluefield Research, Europe Stormwater Infrastructure […]
U.S. and Canada digital water solutions spend to double by 2036 as utilities scale up
U.S. and Canada’s municipal water utilities are moving beyond early digital adoption to system-wide deployment of connected infrastructure solutions and devices. This shift is driving digital water spend from US$14.4 billion today to US$28.6 billion by 2036, fueled by infrastructure asset failures, drought, and tightening regulatory mandates, according to Bluefield Research, a leading provider of […]
U.S. water and sewer bills reach five-year high, outpacing inflation
U.S. household water and sewer bills hit a five-year high in 2025, rising 5.1% and outpacing inflation, according to Bluefield Research, a leading provider of global water market data and insights. Bluefield’s annual U.S. Municipal Water & Sewer Rate Index benchmarks utilities in 50 cities nationwide and reveals a 24.2% cumulative five-year increase—highlighting mounting cost pressures on […]
From smart meters to AI: Australia’s utilities put digital water on a fast track
Australia’s water utilities stand at the global forefront of advanced water management, a position forged by the Millennium Drought (2001–2010) and sharpened by two decades of hard-won operational experience. The proliferation of digital technologies—smart meters, network monitoring, and AI-enabled analytics—has made Australia an epicenter of digital water innovation, representing a US$17.4 billion market opportunity through […]
Irrigation spending to top US$84 billion as U.S. agriculture confronts water scarcity
U.S. agriculture is undergoing an US$84 billion water management transition, with farmers increasingly adopting more advanced precision irrigation systems to cope with declining aquifer levels, volatile weather patterns, and rising energy costs. This shift is fundamentally changing how farms allocate capital across irrigation equipment, water infrastructure, and digital technologies. A new report from Bluefield Research, titled U.S. […]
AI’s electricity boom is redrawing the U.S. water map
The artificial intelligence (AI)-driven data center boom is fundamentally transforming the U.S. water landscape. Surging electricity demand is driving this change, shifting water risks upstream to power generation and impacting communities that never anticipated becoming ground zero for AI infrastructure. A new Insight Report titled The Water-Power Nexus: How Data Centers are Reshaping the U.S. Water […]
Energy spending climbs to 40% of utility operating budgets, pushing digital optimization
Energy is among the top three operating expenses for water and wastewater utilities globally, accounting for roughly between 11% to 40% of total operating expenditures (OPEX) depending on region and system characteristics. This large and increasingly volatile cost burden is accelerating utilities’ investment in digital optimization tools that can generate measurable savings in a matter […]
New EU PFAS limits activate €3.6 billion drinking water treatment opportunity
European utilities are embarking on a decade-long trajectory from monitoring to actively addressing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) contamination in drinking water supplies. Enforcement of the EU Drinking Water Directive’s PFAS limits, which took effect 12 January 2026, now activates procurement requirements for treatment technologies across municipal water systems continent-wide. According to Bluefield Research’s new […]