Industry Update: WRF approves 11 projects, ASTM names president

Feb. 28, 2017

WRF subscribers are encouraged to participate by volunteering to serve as a test facility, provide water samples, respond to surveys, loan equipment, etc.

WRF approves focus area projects

The Water Research Foundation (WRF) approved 11 new projects to be funded in 2017 under the Focus Area Program, according to a press release. The Focus Area Program identifies important water industry issues and helps to resolve them with credible information from targeted, multi-year research. Focus Area Projects for 2017 range in scope from lead and copper to non-regulated DBPs, and others.

WRF subscribers are encouraged to participate by volunteering to serve as a test facility, provide water samples, respond to surveys, loan equipment, or share staff expertise on particular research projects. Participating utilities gain firsthand information about the study and benefit from working with researchers and others in the water community. Interested organizations must complete the online UPIR volunteer application form by March 10, 2017. Requests for proposals for these projects will be available on March 15, 2017 at www.waterrf.org.

Water treatment chemicals market is growing faster than GDP

Growth in the water treatment chemicals market will exceed the rise in gross domestic product (GDP) thanks in part to the expansion of municipal drinking and wastewater treatment in Asia, according to The McIlvaine Company’s N026 Water and Wastewater Treatment Chemicals: World Market.  The 2017 market is forecast at $27 billion, and corrosion inhibitors are forecasted to be the leading product segment.

Water treatment chemicals are part of a larger category labeled specialty chemicals or performance chemicals.  The market for this broader category is $1 trillion per year. Large players include Dow Chemical, BASF, Bayer, INEOS Group and DuPont.

Summit Zacks Global Water Index posts 15.84 percent net return for full year 2016

The Summit Zacks Global Water Index, incorporating fundamental investment factors that have been strong historical indicators of the long-term performance of water equities, increased 15.84 percent on a Net Total Return basis in its first full year of operation. The company launched at the beginning of 2016. Comparatively, the two most widely followed water equity indicies, S&P global Water Index and NASDAQ OMX Global Water Index increased 6.83 percent and 0.76 percent respectively on a Net Total Return basis during the same time period.  The Summit Zacks Global Water Index tracks the performance of publicly listed U.S. and international companies with a significant portion of their business activities dedicated to the global water industry.

Katharine Morgan becomes president of ASTM International

Katharine "Kathie" Morgan was named president of ASTM International, one of the world’s largest standards development organizations. She will lead a team that supports thousands of members, customers, partners, and other stakeholders worldwide. She succeeds James A. Thomas, who served in the role for 25 years.

Morgan is a 33-year veteran of ASTM International. She served as executive vice president for the past two years. Prior to that, she was vice president of Technical Committee Operations, leading a 50-member team that supports the volunteer work of ASTM International’s 30,000 members worldwide.

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