Utility infrastructure: Addressing the aging electric and water systems

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on February 5, 2010 at 7:49 am

From NASDAQ:

“While the U.S. population in general continues to be enamored by the constant stream of new technology “toys” being offered on a daily basis, they pay little attention to the technology that powers the gadgets—the nation’s electric grid.

And while they spend untold millions of dollars a year on bottled water to drink—which, science is now showing, is often no safer than tap water and thousands of times more expensive, not to mention the ecological disaster of the discarded plastic bottles—they pay little attention to the water that comes into their homes for cooking, showering, and washing clothes and dishes.

In sum, people take the electric grid and the water infrastructure for granted. There is a serious problem with this thinking. These infrastructures were designed for lives of 40 to 50 years, but are both now 100 years old in certain parts of the country. The electric grid is collapsing over our heads, and the water infrastructure is disintegrating below our feet. … “

Reuters interview: How to invest in water

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on December 10, 2009 at 7:45 am

From Forbes Magazine:

“SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – A global water crisis is looming, but the path to profits is a muddy mess of regulated industries, giant companies with small water operations, and start-up technologies.

For Alex Miles, who once ran a water hedge fund and now manages $350 million at Kingfisher Capital, successful investing in water means going beyond it — commodities, power and efficiency technology are all ways to make a portfolio splash.

Water scarcity has become a global issue as climate change alters water availability, population growth raises demand, and contamination threatens clean supplies. But what seems to be an obvious investment opportunity has challenges — in particular, the belief that water is a public good, not a profit source.

“If water were not viewed as a human right, it would be a great investment,” said Miles, who compares water shortages to gravity — inescapable. … “

December 10, 2009 · Filed Under Water & Investing

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Investors drink in water ETFs

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 29, 2009 at 7:30 am

From the Seeking Alpha blog:

“The rise of the ETF industry has democratized commodity investing, making this asset class accessible to more investors than ever before. ETFs offer exposure, both direct and indirect, to almost every commodity imaginable, ranging from popular resources such as metals and grains to obscure commodities like adzuki beans and greasy wool. With all the attention paid to gold bullion and crude oil, investors often overlook one of the most important commodities: water.

Unlike most commodities, water has no real substitute, a fact that is raising concern as the world’s population expands more quickly than supplies of fresh, clean water. It is estimated that only 3% of all the water in the world is fresh and of that only 0.3% is above ground in lakes and rivers. With billions depending on the ability to make the most of this limited supply, the few unclaimed water supplies left are becoming increasingly valuable. As concerns about its scarcity in coming decades intensifies, water has the potential to become big business. … “

November 29, 2009 · Filed Under Water & Investing

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Water-Stocks.com interview with Bill Brennan: Investing in Global Water

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 12, 2009 at 8:04 am

From Fast Paced Networking, an interview with Bill Brennan of Brennan Investment Partners LLC, who discusses investing in global water equities in this Water-Stocks.com interview – “Where the opportunities exist for investors, as companies provide solutions to the ever growing water crisis”:

Point Roberts WA, DELTA, BC: November 10, 2009 www.Water-Stocks.com, an investor and industry portal for the water sector within Investorideas.com, presents an interview with Bill Brennan, President & CIO of Brennan Investment Partners LLC, an investment advisor that specializes in the analysis of and investment in domestic and foreign securities of the global water business.

Q- Dawn Van Zant at Water-stocks.com

Bill can you give our readers some background on your history in the water sector and some insight into your firm’s focus and direction.

A- Bill Brennan Brennan Investment Partners LLC

I started out as an engineer in the environmental area dealing with ground water quality issues and the actual construction of drinking water and waste water plants globally 20 years ago. I then went to Coopers & Lybrand where I headed up the environmental consulting arm in the Eastern US. After business school I went over to the public company side as an equity analyst with Pacific Growth Equities in San Francisco where I focused on industrial and environmental companies. My specific water focus regarding equities is directly attributed to John Dickerson at Summit Global in San Diego and the direction he has provided me since 1994. John liked the fact that I had actual experience as an engineer/consultant and public equity experience in the water space. He taught me a great deal about becoming a true value investor in the water space and has heavily influenced my value approach to investing. Over the last ten years I have managed various water products here in the States and in Europe. I presently manage the Kinetics Water Infrastructure Fund-KWINX as the portfolio manager and the sub advisor. …”

Read more from Fast Paced Networking by clicking here.

WATER-STOCKS.COM – Check it out! What a wealth of information at your fingertips. Extensive links (hey, Aquafornia ought to get on the list!), audio interviews, exclusive articles … geesh, there is so much at this website, I can’t even begin to list it all. You’ve got to go see for yourself: http://water-stocks.com

November 12, 2009 · Filed Under Water & Investing

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Water economist says we can invest, profit, help people

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on September 30, 2009 at 8:36 am

From Business columnist Cheryl Hall at the Dallas News:

“Steve Hoffmann wants you to invest in “blue gold,” make a profit and help save mankind in the process. He’s talking about water, H{-2}O, the oil of the 21st century.

And the 54-year-old resource economist and investment fund manager has written a 303-page primer about just how to do that.

Hoffmann thinks Planet Water: Investing in the World’s Most Valuable Resource (John Wiley & Sons, 2009) is every bit as compelling as any business book on the market today.

“The global condition of our water resources has never been in more peril, nor have the investment opportunities ever been greater,” Hoffmann says.

Why?

There is no substitute for pure, life-sustaining water, and it’s getting harder to get by the day, Hoffmann says. …”

Read more of this column by clicking here.

September 30, 2009 · Filed Under Water & Investing

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Three ways to invest in water’s future

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on August 29, 2009 at 8:04 am

From the MoneyShow.com:

“In a warming world, the potential for disruption of historic weather patterns is likely to make water the new oil. Here’s how to play it.

Driving through the fields of southern Spain last week, I looked out the right-side window and saw nothing but burnt brown earth and olive trees. Out the left-side window, the fields were a vivid green. The difference was irrigation. Spiders of pipe crawled across those green fields, spraying water on the crops.

No wonder that in Washington Irving’s history of Granada’s Alhambra, it is the bringing of water that is so often the mark of a great king. Alhamar “introduced abundant streams of water into the city, erecting baths and fountains, and constructing aqueducts and canals to irrigate and fertilize the Vega. By these means, prosperity and abundance prevailed in this beautiful city, its gates were thronged with commerce, and its warehouses filled with luxuries and merchandise of every clime and country.”

And what happens to rulers who don’t bring water? …”

Read more from MoneyShow.com by clicking here.

August 29, 2009 · Filed Under Water & Investing

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Renewable gray water sustainable investments

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 18, 2009 at 12:49 pm

From James Rickman at Seeking Alpha blog:

The long-term market for water infrastructure upgrade and rehabilitation remains strong with capital expenditure expected to grow from $25.2 billion in 2009 to $49.7 billion in 2016.
For example, renewable “GrayWater” — the stuff that drains from bathtubs, sinks and clothes washers — generates 40 gallons of water per person per day in the U.S. that could be recycled in the landscape or reused to flush toilets in addition to large volume commercial industrial needs.

Today, only a relatively small portion just over 10% of the 98 million or so U.S. households currently reusing graywater. Although, I found on my recent visit to California’s wild horse ranch sanctuary Return To Freedom that in Santa Barbara County gray water recycling has grown to over 17% becoming an important sector.

Read more from Seeking Alpha by clicking here.

July 18, 2009 · Filed Under Water & Investing

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Seeking Alpha/Resolution’s Instablog: Invest in water and invest wisely

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 3, 2009 at 7:17 am

From Seeking Alpha’s Resolution’s Instablog:

Everybody knows that water will be next oil and has long term value. However, how to invest wisely? This post tries to identify a few subsectors for those who are interested in investing in water.

Water: A Defensive growth sector

The global water sector, which is estimated to be a $425 billion market, remains at the forefront of industrial, geopolitical, and social agendas because of worsening supply/demand imbalances at regional and national levels and the heightened megatrend catalysts of water scarcity, quality, and safety issues. We are bullish on the global water sector’s defensive long term growth potential.

The Next Oil

The demand for water – the life-sustaining natural resource that has no substitute – continues to escalate at an unsustainable rate, fueled by population growth and industrial expansion. The world’s fresh water supply is also shrinking due to pollution, draining of underground aquifers, and climate change. As a result, we expect to see a sustained focus and investment in the global water sector for years to come.

Read more from Resolution’s Instablog by clicking here.

July 3, 2009 · Filed Under Water & Investing

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Seeking Alpha: Positioning for when water runs out

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 26, 2009 at 6:42 am

From Seeking Alpha, Joseph L. Shaefer discusses the worldwide water situation and some possible investment opportunities:

… whether you are producing grain, meat, fruits or vegetables, you are using water – lots of water. Fully 50% of America’s fresh water goes to irrigate our crops and provide us with food. Do you like whole grain bread? I do. According to Kansas State University, which might know a thing or two about wheat, it takes 151 gallons of water to produce one pound of wheat.

Concerned about world overpopulation devouring every bit of remaining food like locusts? Then you are really concerned about the amount of available-for-use water. The earth is comprised of 70.8% water and 29.2% land, but salt water comprises 97.5% of all the water on earth, fresh water just 2.5% — and roughly 2/3 of that is locked in polar and glacial ice! Humans will die if we consume salt water. More on this in Part II. Let’s look today at the world situation for fresh water.

I have cautioned here and here that the headlong rush to buy emerging markets based upon their well-ballyhooed prospects, without conducting due diligence as to the problems they face in realizing those prospects, is folly. Restricting my comments only to water…

Mr. Shafer than takes a look worldwide of areas with water scarcity and those with water stress, and which companies stand to benefit in Part 1 of this series – click here.

In Part 2, Mr. Shaefer focuses on desalination:

Man is a wily creature and every now and again uses his brain for something besides figuring out how to destroy his nation’s economic system or finding new ways to destroy other inhabitants of the planet.

Desalination using reverse osmosis membrane technology has become a viable option for the development of new water supplies. You may be surprised at the number of countries – and nations – staking their future on desalination.

The largest seawater reverse osmosis plant in the world is at Ashkelon, on Israel’s southern coast. It provides over 100 million cubic meters of desalinated water per year at a cost of about $0.60 U.S. per cubic meter. Since one cubic meter equals just over 264 US gallons, and since the average price of water in the U.S. is about $1.50 per 1000 gallons, it costs you and I, living in the states, about $0.40 for a cubic meter.

He then gives a rundown of public companies working in desalination, and also some picks in irrigation technology. Check out Part 2 by clicking here.

June 26, 2009 · Filed Under Water & Investing

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3 questions: G.G. Pique, Energy Recovery Inc.

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 21, 2009 at 6:34 am

The San Francisco Chronicle poses three questions to Chief Executive Officer G. G. Pique of Energy Recovery, Inc.:

Q: Some analysts have said the state’s drought problems will crack the market wide open for water solutions. What is the future of water desalination in California and what part will ERI take in it?

A: Twenty years ago I helped design and start up the Santa Barbara desalination plant. Back then we were selling water at $2 per cubic meter. Since that time the cost of desalination has been cut in half.

California now has 9 million more people than the last time we had a major drought in the ’70s. It is very important to have new sources of water, and we see desalination as the low-energy and low-cost solution. If you go to San Diego in 18 months, drinking desalinated water from the tap will be a reality.

Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle by clicking here.

June 21, 2009 · Filed Under Desalination, Water & Investing

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How to invest in ocean wave and hyrdopower sustainable energy

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 8, 2009 at 6:39 am

From Seeking Alpha:

Oceans cover more than 70% of the Earth’s surface. As the world’s largest solar collectors, oceans generate thermal energy from the sun. They also produce mechanical energy from the tides and waves. Even though the sun affects all ocean activity, the gravitational pull of the moon primarily drives the tides, and the wind powers the ocean waves.

Wave power is the capture of the energy from waves on the surface of the ocean. It is one of the newer forms of renewable or ‘green’ energy under development, not as advanced as solar energy, fuel cells, wind power, ethanol, geothermal companies, and flywheels. However, interest in wave power is increasing and may be the wave of the future in coastal areas according to many sources including the International Energy Agency Implementing Agreement on Ocean Energy Systems (Report 2009).

Although fewer than 12 MW of ocean power capacity has been installed to date worldwide, we find a significant increase of investments reaching over $2 billion for R&D worldwide within the ocean power market including the development of commercial ocean wave power combination wind farms within the next three years.

Read more from Seeking Alpha in this extensive article by clicking here.

June 8, 2009 · Filed Under Water & Investing

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Investment outlook for water utilities

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on April 20, 2009 at 6:40 am

From Seeking Alpha:

The Wall Street Transcript recently interviewed Timothy M. Winter, a Senior Vice President at Jesup & Lamont Securities Corporation, on his outlook for water utilities. Key excerpts follow:

TWST: How has business been in the water utilities space through this economic downturn? I would guess it’s not very sensitive.

Mr. Winter: The water utility group is among the least economically sensitive groups or sectors in the market. The bulk of retail sales and revenues are from residential customers who do not experience the economical swings in volume that the industrial or commercial classes do. Water utility bills are low enough that typical residential customers do not change consumption patterns. Roughly 3%-10% of retail revenues are derived from the industrial sector, where volumes sold are directly related to the economy. While industrial water sales have declined, we emphasize that a 10% consumption decline from the industrial customer class, which totals only 5% of retail revenues, doesn’t impact the bottom line significantly. So yes, this is probably the most economically resilient group out there.

Read more from Seeking Alpha by clicking here.

April 20, 2009 · Filed Under Water & Investing

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Investing in water: Absolute water rights and the absolute right to profit

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on April 17, 2009 at 11:56 am

From Energy & Capital:

Have you ever heard of absolute water rights? If you haven’t, you soon will.

It’s a story over a century in the making, dating back to Civil War times. But its effect has serious profit implications in present day.

It was the 1850s when the first water rights were decreed in Colorado. And by 1864 the entire base flow of the Purgatory River had been appropriated. About the same time, hundreds of thousands of prospectors began searching for gold in the area. They were the participants of Pike’s Peak Gold Rush. You may know them better as Fifty-Niners, after the peak year of the rush.

But those miners not only secured a fortune for themselves, they unknowingly started a trend that would make you a fortune well over a century later.

Read more from Energy & Capital by clicking here.

April 17, 2009 · Filed Under Water & Investing

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Recession slowing water investment to a drip

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on April 16, 2009 at 7:54 am

From Reuters News Business & Finance section:

Water scarcity means big growth for companies that purify, transport, and distribute the world’s most essential resource, but a global recession that has halted new projects and put off price hikes means water investors will have to wait for the boom years.

Water, cheap and indispensable, has long been prized as a stable investment in both good and bad times. But as the population grows, urbanization tightens access to clean water and climate change promises more droughts, calls to upgrade the nation’s crumbling infrastructure have mounted, and companies that make pipes, filters and other products that help manage water supplies have taken on a new shine as growth vehicles.

“There are tremendous needs in this country to replace aging infrastructure, especially water infrastructure, and now there is tremendous money able to be put toward those types of projects,” said BB&T Capital Markets analyst Kevin Maczka, though he cautioned that investors shouldn’t expect a “windfall” for water stocks any time soon.

“Over a couple of years that will be a real investable theme,” Maczka said.

Read more from Reuters News by clicking here.

April 16, 2009 · Filed Under Water & Investing

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Mandates needed to spur water tech

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on March 13, 2009 at 5:55 am

From Red Herring:

Water is a tricky business. Utilities, which supply water and provide wastewater treatment, are typically slow to change, and the industry is laden with regulations. Those are some reasons why water startups attracted only 1 percent of total U.S. clean-tech venture funding in 2008. To drive more investment toward water, the industry should look to its big clean-tech sibling: renewable energy. Solar, wind and other clean energy sources have grown largely because of government mandates requiring their increased use.

The same could happen for water, industry observers say. If national or state governments mandated that water utilities reduced their per capita use or recycled a growing percentage of their water over time, technological solutions would be in higher demand and innovation would flourish.

Mandates would make the business case for startups stronger, and serious investment would start to flow. Much like the energy sector’s renewable portfolio standards that are popping up across the globe, the water world needs mandated targets.

“We look at water tech startups and ask what is the lever to get companies to scale,” said Nancy Pfund, managing partner of San Francisco-based venture firm DBL Investors. “People don’t change behavior unless they have to or if not doing so costs them money. You need an incentive in place.”

Read more from Red Herring by clicking here.

March 13, 2009 · Filed Under Water & Investing

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Water: the ultimate commodity

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on November 25, 2008 at 5:29 am

From Seeking Alpha:

We all need water to live. As useful as oil, copper and corn may be, we could get by without them for a while. But water? Water is a necessity. And for some, this makes it the ultimate commodity.

People invest in commodities for a lot of reasons: for diversification; as a way to play growth in the developing world; because they think demand growth will outstrip supply.

By those metrics, water may be the ultimate commodity investment. Demand for water is steady and never-ending, meaning water investments should not be correlated with broader economic developments. Meanwhile, history shows that as economies develop, citizens will demand more and more water to support richer lifestyles, making water an interesting play on countries like China and India. And finally, the world is in a silent water crisis, with rising demand set against limited supply; a classic commodities squeeze.

Read the rest of this article from Seeking Alpha, which looks at opportunities for investing in water, by clicking here.

November 25, 2008 · Filed Under Water & Investing

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Water & Investing: Swim among the water stocks

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on October 6, 2008 at 7:37 am

From the Washington Post & Kiplinger:

The world is facing a growing shortage of fresh water. In fact, dwindling supplies of this most natural of resources are making water nearly as hard to find as oil. That means companies involved in selling, purifying or facilitating the transport of water should be good investments as the world grapples with reduced flows of the wet stuff.

Shares of water-related companies have bucked the tide during the market downturn. Over the past year to September 8, PowerShares Water Resources, an exchange-traded fund, broke even, while Standard & PoorÕs 500-stock index sank 14%. Some water stocks have performed remarkably well. Shares of Northwest Pipe — which, not surprisingly, makes pipes for water infrastructure and other purposes — have jumped 49% over the past year. Shares of American Water Works, a utility, have risen 3% since the company went public in April, outshining the S&P 500 by 13 percentage points.
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If you want to swim in the world of water, you have a choice of pools. You could buy shares of companies that make equipment for utilities, purification programs and other water-related projects. Also worth a look are companies that will replace the nation’s aging pipes and provide new ones for transporting water to growing population centers. In addition, water utilities offer generous dividends and provide steady growth that could accelerate as demand increases and state regulators approve rate hikes. Meanwhile, companies in the U.S. and in places with burgeoning populations and desert environments are investing in desalination plants, which purify seawater by extracting salt and other minerals.

Find out more including specific companies you might invest in from the Washington Post & Kiplinger by clicking here.

October 6, 2008 · Filed Under Water & Investing

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Water: an ocean of opportunity

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on September 16, 2008 at 10:09 pm

From Seeking Alpha:

The Dow is bouncing up and down like a yo-yo. Every chart looks like a ski slope. A few investors are profiting from these wild market mood swings, while others are seeking refuge in industries that feature non-discretionary items, like water.

Approximately 40% of the world population lacks adequate fresh water. In the next decade an estimated $800 billion is going to be spent globally to bring fresh water to those who don’t have it. With that kind of money flowing into a sector, you can bet now is the time to start paying attention to water.

Water stress is severe in China, India, and Africa, and it’s also rising in developed nations. Sure there are infrastructure issues, but one of the biggest problems is simply a lack of water. Most of the earth’s surface is water, but less than 3% is drinkable.

The world’s freshwater resources are not sufficient to keep up with demand. As the world population grows and water tables decline, a solution has to be developed. Right now, that solution is desalination.

Desalination (removing the salt from ocean water) is a technology that is gaining momentum as a practical solution to the global water shortage. This isn’t some hippy green-energy pipe dream that’s 20 years away from having a meaningful impact on the world. The National Academy of Sciences declared, “Desalination is a realistic option for increasing water supplies.”

September 16, 2008 · Filed Under Water & Investing

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Whiskey’s for drinkin’, water’s for investing in

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 27, 2008 at 7:35 am

From the Cleantech Blog:

Last week I put out the idea that we were approaching a tipping point in water re-use. There were a few other headlines this week which support that. For one thing California’s second largest reservoir is now ‘at its lowest level in 30 years’. Last Monday the California Department of Water Resources Director, Lester Snow, stated that next year “could be the worst drought in California history”. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein have proposed a $9.3 billion plan to the Legislature to fund a number of measures aimed at improving California’s water system.

So that’s California, – which bear in mind would be the 7th largest economy in the world if it was a country and has been the number one food producer in the United States for more than 50 years. Now let’s take a look at what’s happening in the capital of the world’s second largest economy. In Beijing, in the run up to the 2008 Olympic Games, Siemens Water Technologies has started up a wastewater reuse system at the city’s Beixiaohe wastewater treatment plant. The goal is to process 90% of the wastewater with 50% of the treated wastewater being recycled and reused.

2008 may be remembered as the year in which China hosted the Olympic Games but is also an auspicious year for another reason. 2008 is the first year in which the population of the planet will be more urban than rural. (Apparently this change occurred May 23rd 2008!). That’s an important turning point and if we are to increasingly live in cities, this of course means that we need to have means of sustainably meeting demands on water use in these cities.

Get investment advice from the Cleantech blog by clicking here. (As always with investment information, no endorsement is given or implied.)

July 27, 2008 · Filed Under Water & Investing

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Water, a soluble problem: More trading could help to alleviate water shortages

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 20, 2008 at 6:41 am

From Economist.com:

So world markets are short of oil, and supplies of food are running thin. The prices of all sorts of basic commodities are soaring, and now there may also be reason for many to worry about the most fundamental of necessities—water. Some experts believe so, at least, and they are spreading doom-laden warnings of a Malthusian crisis in the world’s water supply.

Goldman Sachs, an investment bank which likes to ponder the future of the world, recently suggested that a global lack of water could prove to be a bigger threat to mankind than rising food prices or the depletion of energy resources. Sir Nicholas Stern, who reviewed the economics of climate change in a big report for the British government in 2006, is worried too. He points to some big local problems, for example in the Himalayas, where melting glaciers risk disrupting supplies of usable water in the region, just as many underground aquifers are drying up. He argues that water—at least the fresh sort—is not a renewable resource, and because it is not priced properly it has been “mined” without restraint.

Global water consumption is doubling every 20 years says Goldman Sachs. According to Sir Nicholas, in many places supplies are running short as rising consumption cannot be matched by fresh rainfall. As a result, suggests Goldman Sachs, the price of water is bound to rise: bad news for the poor and thirsty, but an opportunity for investors. The excited bank even suggests that water might be considered to be the “petroleum for the next century”.

More from Economist.com by clicking here.

July 20, 2008 · Filed Under Water & Investing

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Finally, an IPO worth talking about: Energy Recovery

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 10, 2008 at 5:59 pm

From MSN’s Money Blog:

We’ve been stuck in one of the bleakest IPO periods in recent history. At least Energy Recovery is there to give us hope. Shares of the water desalination specialist have risen 32% since the company’s July 1 debut to $11.43.

This is a company you want to root for, and after reading Energy Recovery’s prospectus I look forward to seeing where it goes from here. The company focuses on reverse osmosis for sea water, which uses high pressure to push sea water through filters and turn it into fresh water. Desalination has been too expensive and energy-sapping to be feasible for many countries, but that’s changing. There are 20 desalination plants proposed for California, and cities in Europe and Australia are building them, according to the Economist.

Read more from the MSN Money Blog by clicking here. (Check it out if you’re interested, but as always, no endorsement given or implied.)

July 10, 2008 · Filed Under Water & Investing

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Water proves good resource in portfolio; More ways to invest in supply, technology

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on July 6, 2008 at 7:09 am

From the Chicago Tribune:

Battles over water rights for survival and economic growth were dramatically depicted in the films “Chinatown” about Los Angeles and “The Milagro Beanfield War” about the American Southwest. The present-day story unfolding over water’s future may offer opportunities for investors able to envision it as a valuable commodity that benefits companies involved in its sale, distribution, purification and infrastructure.

Corporate raider and oilman T. Boone Pickens has been buying up water rights in the Texas Panhandle in the belief that water is going to become scarce and salable. This follows the logic that climate change, shrinking lakes and rivers and population growth will make increasing portions of the world susceptible to water shortages.

With that in mind, governments and companies around the world are beginning to take steps to deal more effectively with the issue of water. The number of ways to invest in water-related companies has increased.

Most mutual funds and exchange-traded funds specializing in the sector have been, at best, flat performers over the past year. That’s more than you can say for many other investments, yet there is no escaping the fact that investing is an endeavor that requires considerable patience.

“While water is the most crucial element of our lives, it has historically been cheap, and we pay little attention to things that don’t cost any money,” said Neil Berlant, portfolio manager of the $19 million PFW Water Fund. “Water has been largely neglected from a business and investment standpoint, but that is changing because the price of water is rising.”

Read the full text of this story from the Chicago Tribune by clicking here.

July 6, 2008 · Filed Under Water & Investing

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California’s drought could mean water boom, say experts; This week’s state-issued drought could attract more interest to an already booming market

Posted by: Aqua Blog Maven on June 7, 2008 at 5:33 am

From CleanTech:

While “drought” is not the kind of word that people generally enjoy hearing, especially when it’s coupled with “statewide” and “catastrophic,” California’s drought has the potential of turning bad into good, say industry experts. “This is going to be truly explosive. It’s going to be a boom,” said Neil Berlant, a fund manager of the PFW Water Fund at Crowell, Weedon & Co. investment group. “People have always over looked [water] because it’s been inexpensive,” he said, pointing out that was about to change in California.

Berlant has been investing in water for almost two decades and claims his water fund has beat the market every year, for the past 18 years. According to Berlant, water is the largest industry in the world and encompasses a large spectrum of companies—from treatment to pump manufacturers, to filter and membrane companies—all of which could be needed in much larger supply in California soon.

One such company making a difference is San Leandro, Calif.-based Energy Recovery, a desalination company founded in 1992 with the aim of making seawater desalination affordable by reducing energy costs—one of the most common complaints with desal. “Their equipment has made a significant impact of reducing the cost of desalinating water,” said Berlant. “It’s an energy intensive process, but they’ve made a dent and dramatically decreased the cost.” Representatives from Energy Recovery were unable to speak with Cleantech Group, as the company filed for a share sale to raise up to $175 million earlier this year (see Cleantech water deals diving into rough market).

Conversely, David Henderson—a managing director of Toronto’s XPV Capital—looks to substantial growth in reuse, recycling and conservation areas. “Those are the low hanging fruit when it comes to managing water resources,” continued Henderson.

Find out more from the CleanTech website by clicking here.

June 7, 2008 · Filed Under Water & Investing

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