According to a report released in May by global water market data and insight provider Bluefield Research, the digital water spend in the United States and Canada is projected to increase from $14.4 billion to $28.6 billion by 2036.
The digital boom is being fueled by infrastructure asset failures, drought and tightening regulatory mandates, Bluefield said, adding that municipal utilities in the United States and Canada are moving beyond early digital adoption to system-wide deployment of connected solutions and devices.
Bluefield’s new report, U.S. and Canada Digital Water Landscape: Trends and Growth Forecasts, 2026–2036, forecasts that the spend on digital water solutions will total $230 billion over the next decade, growing at a 7.1% compound annual growth rate (CAGR).
Purchasing in the digital water space is outpacing spend on traditional municipal hardware and equipment, Bluefield added.
“Digital technology is reshaping every corner of the economy, and municipal water infrastructure is no exception,” said Leigh Ramsey, senior analyst at Bluefield Research. “It is important to note, however, that the pace of adoption varies significantly by system size, local pressures, and regulatory environment.”
Metering: Visibility to Real-time Control
The share of smart meters is scaling rapidly, growing at a 9.7% CAGR compared to 2.6% for standard meters, as utilities recognize advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) as the foundational layer for digital operations. The shift gives utilities a real-time, two-way connection across customer networks, turning metering from hardware purely for billing into an operational intelligence platform that can support leak detection, more real-time demand management, and network-wide visibility.
Asset Management: From Reactive Maintenance to Predictive Operations
Asset management is the fastest-growing digital water segment in absolute dollar terms, expanding from $2.3 billion to $5.5 billion by 2036 (8.8% CAGR), signaling that utilities are increasingly rethinking how infrastructure is managed. Drones, advanced inspection technologies, and condition assessment tools are now enhancing, if not replacing, scheduled maintenance cycles with more continuous monitoring. This is giving utilities the data to prioritize capital investment where system risk is highest rather than where it is most visible.
Leak Detection: From Monitoring to Intervention
Leak detection investment is expected to nearly quadruple over the next decade as water loss becomes a strategic liability. Contrasting approaches are being demonstrated across the U.S. with New York utilizing field crews to inspect 40,000 ft of pipe nightly, while Atlanta is rolling out more than 1,000 sensors for continuous, automated detection. Both methods reflect the same urgency, driven by fundamentally different approaches.
“Out West, utilities face persistent drought pressure, while Southeast utilities are managing high non-revenue water rates alongside population growth,” said Ramsey. “Leak detection is becoming essential infrastructure intelligence across very different regional challenges.”
Wastewater: From Compliance to Resilience
In January 2026, a major sewer collapse in Washington, D.C. released millions of gallons of untreated wastewater into the Potomac River, highlighting the vulnerability of aging networks. Bluefield said events like this are accelerating a shift from compliance-focused monitoring to resilience-driven operations, driving wastewater digital investment from $1.2 billion in 2026 to $2.8 billion by 2036.
In Canada, Vancouver is doubling annual sewer inspections using digital tools to stay ahead of critical asset failures, representing a concrete example of how digital technologies are changing the calculus on infrastructure investment.
From Digitized Systems to Secure Digital Infrastructure
As utilities expand connected infrastructure, cybersecurity investment is forecast to nearly double over the next ten years. New regulatory frameworks, including requirements introduced in New York State, are formalizing cybersecurity standards across the sector. Information management is the fastest-growing digital water product category at a 10.8% CAGR, fueled by rising data volumes and compliance requirements that come with increasingly connected operations.
The next decade is not just about deploying more technology — it is about integrating it across utility operations that are often siloed and deeply entrenched. Those that successfully move from fragmented digital deployments to system-wide operational intelligence will define what the modern water system looks like, and which technology providers win the contracts to build it.
The full U.S. and Canada Digital Water Landscape report from Bluefield Research can be found here.
Source/s: Bluefield Research
Leave a Reply