How technology, resilience demands, and cybersecurity are transforming the water industry

For 14 years running, the  Black & Veatch Water Report  has been an essential compass for understanding the evolving landscape of the water industry. The 2025 edition, built on the insights of over 600 U.S. water stakeholders, offers a comprehensive look at the pivotal trends shaping the sector today.

The water industry stands at a critical juncture, grappling with evolving regulations, ageing infrastructure, and significant workforce shifts. To better understand these challenges and the path forward, we sat down with  Donnie Ginn, Executive Vice President and Water Solutions Group Leader at Black & Veatch . With over three decades of experience, Ginn's expertise spans water and wastewater facilities, collection and distribution systems, and complex water conveyance programs. In this interview, Ginn provides a deep dive into the insights from Black & Veatch's latest Water Report, offering perspectives on how utilities can build sustainable and resilient water solutions.

Regulatory requirements are driving major capital investments, whether to develop new water sources or meet water quality standards

Please tell us briefly about your background and your current professional role at Black & Veatch.

I am an Executive Vice President and Water Solutions Group Leader at Black & Veatch — a global employee-owned company with more than a century of experience in the water industry. We focus on consulting, engineering, and construction, specialising in the development of human critical infrastructure. I’ve been with Black & Veatch for more than three decades, and I’ve enjoyed solving our clients’ most critical challenges in the water industry, which is at a critical juncture.

Given the estimated $3.2 billion annual cost to comply with the EPA’s new per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) regulations, how do you envision utilities balancing compliance with affordability for ratepayers?

At Black & Veatch, we continue to partner with our clients to identify strategies for securing funding and improving operational efficiency

Utilities are always working to balance rising costs with the need to maintain high-quality service to their customers and to ensure the delivery of safe and reliable drinking water to the communities they serve. Increasingly, regulatory requirements are driving major capital investments, whether to develop new water sources or meet water quality standards. At Black & Veatch, we continue to partner with our clients to identify strategies for securing funding and improving operational efficiency, all in service of the shared goal of delivering clean, safe water to their customers and the environment. 

Black & Veatch team helps the Hillsborough County Public Utilities Department expand their Northwest Regional Water Reclamation Facility (NWRWRF) to provide a new compact and cost-effective dewatering facility in Hillsborough County, Florida.

The report notes that only 28% of respondents have a One Water or integrated water supply plan. Why do you think adoption is still so low, and what are the barriers?

Clean, affordable and accessible water is essential for the long-term well-being of people, communities, industries and the environment. Municipal water systems—whether it’s water supply, wastewater treatment or stormwater management—are deeply interconnected. One Water redefines water resource management by viewing water as a single, renewable resource with value in every part of its cycle. We’re seeing a growing number of communities embrace this mindset, integrating water planning decisions across systems rather than making them in isolation. It’s a smarter, more resilient way forward—but there are still real barriers to broader adoption. 

Clean, affordable and accessible water is essential for the long-term well-being of people, communities, industries and the environment

First, institutional silos have existed for decades, and it’s hard to break away from steady habits. New costs and addressing ageing infrastructure can also prevent some communities from shifting to a One Water approach, but our teams are helping clients achieve this highly beneficial transformation by developing One Water strategies. We work closely with utilities and municipalities to help them with their One Water journey and remove the barriers to entry.

We have partnered with water utilities and companies on integrating land- and water-use planning, incorporating natural water sources, and restoring and protecting the environment through nature-based solutions while promoting water sustainability and economic growth for years to come. It’s exciting to see the impact of our work and how it can help improve not only natural resources but also the growth of a community.

Many utilities report low maturity in leveraging data. What are the most critical first steps for those looking to move from data collection to actionable insights?

Nearly half of the respondents to our water report survey indicated that they are  collecting a lot of data but not leveraging the data effectively . Every water utility has the opportunity to harness its data to explore, assess, report and forecast trends, and evolve into an organisation grounded in strong data management. But to make that shift, utilities need a well-structured home for their data — and a team of skilled stewards to manage it.

More specifically, that home is a CMMS (Computerised Maintenance Management System) aligned with business processes such as asset management, frameworks, and risk and maintenance strategies, paired with the staff to keep the data up to date.

One Water redefines water resource management by viewing water as a single, renewable resource with value in every part of its cycle

A data strategy is not an out-of-the-box solution. That’s why in 2025, we see utilities revisiting their strategies and asking evolved questions such as, “What information is strategic? What data-driven decisions do we want to make as an organisation? What change management strategies can we deploy?” It’s crucial to determine those answers so that terabytes of data can become helpful in addressing persistent issues, such as helping pinpoint and stem water loss.

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Taxonomy

• Water Reclamation
• Industrial Water Managment
• Water Supply
• Water Utility
• Industrial Water Supply
• Water Security
• Florida, United States