Bridging the 6.5 Trillion Water Infrastructure Gap A Playbook 2025
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Drivers of
investment demand2
Access, resilience, circularity and innovation
will define the future of the global water industry,
guiding investment and policy priorities.
Mission
1. Equitable
Access
2. Infrastructure
resilience
3. Circularity
and resource
recovery
4. InnovationInvestment need
(trillion euros)Interventions Best practices
5.3
4.8
1.0
0.3Centralized systems for urban areas,
Skid/decentralized systems for rural areasGive global access to basic
wastewater and sanitation1.2
District metering, pressure management,
AI-powered leakage detectionReduce water leakages 2.1
Advanced materials in water pipelines Revamp ageing infrastructure 2.2
Grey infrastructure, nature-based
solutions, climate forecastingIncrease resilience to
floods and droughts2.3
Industrial reuse facilities, closed-loop
systems, rainwater harvestingScale wastewater reuse 3.1
Microgrids, sludge’s biogas recovery,
energy efficient smart technologiesImprove asset’s energy efficiency
and resource recovery3.2
PFAS destruction technologiesAccelerate advanced water
treatment for micropollutants3.3
SCADA1 and IoT2 monitoring, digital
twins, remote sensingDeploy smart technologies 4.1
No-dig repair and trenchless
technologies, unmanned robotsScale water-tech solutions 4.2Green desalination, urban wastewater
reuse, rainwater harvestingGive global access to affordable
and reliable safe drinking water1.1
Bridging the €6.5 Trillion Water Infrastructure Gap: A Playbook
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