01 What Happened

A new Bluefield Research forecast projects USD 99.3 billion in municipal drinking-water and wastewater pipe CAPEX across the United States and Canada from 2026 through 2035. Annual spending is projected to rise from USD 9.07 billion in 2026 to USD 10.88 billion in 2035, while rehabilitation and repair increase their share from 9.7 percent to 19.8 percent. The forecast also identifies an installed base of about 4.52 million miles of water and wastewater pipe.

02 Key Takeaways

  • 01 Total forecast municipal pipe CAPEX is USD 99.3 billion for 2026–2035.
  • 02 Rehabilitation and repair are forecast to nearly double their share of spending, from 9.7 percent to 19.8 percent.
  • 03 The market is shifting from network expansion toward condition assessment, rehabilitation and replacement of aging assets.

03 Why It Matters

The important signal is not the USD 99.3 billion headline; it is the change in spending mix.

Bluefield projects rehabilitation and repair to rise from 9.7 percent to 19.8 percent of pipe CAPEX as aging networks force utilities to move from expansion-led budgets toward condition-led renewal. Inspection, condition assessment, trenchless rehabilitation, shutdown planning and asset criticality therefore become as important as new-pipe unit cost.

04 ATLAS Engineering View

Material share is also moving, with PVC forecast to gain and ductile iron to decline. That should not be read as one material being universally superior. Soil chemistry, pressure class, diameter, seismic risk, installation method, failure consequence and lifecycle maintenance all affect selection. The larger opportunity is helping utilities decide which assets to rehabilitate, replace or leave in service based on risk and remaining useful life.

05 Sources