WWEMA Window: A Year In Review And A Look Ahead
By John Collins
As I write this article, I must confess that I thought (hoped) that we would be in a much different place. Like many of you, I thought that 2021 would be the year that we would come out of the pandemic and return to “normal”. While progress has slowly been made in opening back up travel and meetings, it feels like we are still a long way from those pre-COVID days and that the future will likely look much different. While manufacturers were deemed essential in the water sector and that kept the lights on and the machines working, other related businesses and even the federal government are still not “open for business” and it remains to be seen when folks will actually get back to the office and for how many days a week, particularly now with the Omicron variant spreading around the country and the world. It seems to be a moving target as businesses focused on after Labor Day as the return-to-office timeframe which then slipped to January 2022 and even that is now unclear. Many are waiting to see what the holidays and the Omicron variant will bring and are keeping return-to-office plans fluid and flexible.
Like many other associations, 2021 was a bit of a transition year for the Water and Wastewater Equipment Manufacturers Association (WWEMA). While we started the year “virtually”, we were ultimately able to successfully and safely transition to in-person meetings in August. We held a Strategic Planning Committee Meeting, our Presidents Council Meeting, attended WEFTEC, and held our Annual Meeting in-person in November. There was so much excitement in finally being back together after two years apart and you could see the friendships and business relationships being rekindled. While we were definitely able to expand our outreach and educational programing to many, many more members and non-members alike over the last two years, there is no substitute for being face-to-face. It now looks like 2022 may be the transition year as we develop better vaccines and therapeutics to hopefully turn the pandemic into an endemic.
For the water sector, while 2021 was in fact a good year, all indications are that 2022 should be even better. The recently passed Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill adds $55B over the next five years to help fund infrastructure investment, lead service line replacement, and addressing emerging contaminants such as PFAS. While the priority is for funding to go to small and disadvantaged communities there should still be funds available to upgrade medium and large systems as well. With an emphasis on building back better and smarter, we have the ability to leap frog into the future with technologies that can increase efficiency, productivity, and improve real-time knowledge about water quality.
That being said, there are certainly some headwinds. The new infrastructure funding comes with expansive new Buy America requirements on all products and technologies used in the water sector that may make it challenging to actually use the new funding. While supply chain issues are slowly starting to unwind, increased costs and delays in delivery will likely still be with us through at least the first half of 2022. Workforce challenges will continue until we can find a way to expand the pipeline of workers into the water sector. Mergers and acquisitions, which surged over the last two years, will likely continue as the industry continues to consolidate. For the most part though, projections seem to indicate 4 to 6 percent growth in the water sector for 2022 and that could further improve as the head winds diminish and we move into 2023.
So I wish you all a happy, health, and safe holiday season and for 2022 to get us back on the right track!
John Collins is President and CEO of JCM Industries Inc. and Chairman of the Board of the Water and Wastewater Equipment Manufacturers Association (WWEMA). WWEMA is a non-profit trade association formed in 1908 to represent water and wastewater technology manufacturers and related service providers. WWEMA is made up of many of the most prominent and influential companies in the industry who are working together to shape the future of water and wastewater technology in the U.S. and around the world. For more information about WWEMA, go to www.wwema.org. You are also invited to follow WWEMA on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/wwema/. Interested in becoming a WWEMA member? Contact WWEMA Executive Director, Vanessa Leiby at vanessa@wwema.org.