The Wire
Mapping the seed corpus: where the water industry's suppliers cluster ◇ Desalination past the 100-million-m³/day mark: what the project data shows ◇ Tracker: China's water agenda — reuse mandates, sponge cities, leakage targets ◇ EU adopts recast Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive ◇ Beyond capture: PFAS destruction technologies move from lab to field ◇ India's Jal Jeevan Mission passes three-quarters of rural households connected ◇ US EPA finalizes first national PFAS drinking-water standards ◇ Thames Water crisis deepens as shareholders withhold new equity ◇
Pillar B · The Intelligence Engine

Water intelligence, sourced to the sentence.

Every brief is labeled with its position on the editorial-automation dial (A0→H2) and linked to the companies and technologies it mentions.

Curated briefs & analysis

Data story

Mapping the seed corpus: where the water industry's suppliers cluster

What 33 verified seed profiles across 14 countries already reveal about the industry's Asian center of gravity — and what 250,000 profiles will show.

H1 · Human-written · AI-assisted15 linked
Data story

Desalination past the 100-million-m³/day mark: what the project data shows

Global installed desalination capacity has passed 100 million m³ per day across roughly 20,000+ plants — and reverse osmosis now dominates new builds.

H1 · Human-written · AI-assisted7 linked
Policy tracker

Tracker: China's water agenda — reuse mandates, sponge cities, leakage targets

A living overview of the policy lines that shape the world's largest water market, from the 14th Five-Year Plan era into current programs.

H1 · Human-written · AI-assisted3 linked
Wire

EU adopts recast Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive

Quaternary treatment for micropollutants, energy neutrality for the sector, and extended producer responsibility for pharma and cosmetics.

A1 · AI-drafted · human-approved
Analysis

Beyond capture: PFAS destruction technologies move from lab to field

Supercritical water oxidation, electrochemical oxidation and plasma systems begin commercial pilots as regulators force the question: what happens to the concentrate?

H1 · Human-written · AI-assisted
Wire

India's Jal Jeevan Mission passes three-quarters of rural households connected

The flagship tap-water program has connected over 100 million rural households since 2019 — one of the fastest water-infrastructure build-outs in history.

A1 · AI-drafted · human-approved3 linked
Wire

US EPA finalizes first national PFAS drinking-water standards

Enforceable limits of 4 ng/L for PFOA and PFOS set a global reference point — and a multi-billion-dollar treatment market in motion.

A1 · AI-drafted · human-approved
Wire

Thames Water crisis deepens as shareholders withhold new equity

The UK's largest water utility entered 2024 unable to secure shareholder funding, putting regulatory model and £15bn+ debt pile under national scrutiny.

H1 · Human-written · AI-assisted
Wire

California adopts direct potable reuse regulations

The State Water Board's December 2023 vote lets utilities put purified recycled water directly into drinking-water systems — a global regulatory landmark.

A1 · AI-drafted · human-approved
Wire

EU restriction on intentionally added microplastics enters into force

The REACH restriction begins phasing out microbeads and other intentionally added microplastics across consumer and industrial products.

A0 · Automated
Wire

Taweelah, the world's largest SWRO plant, reaches full commercial operation

The ACWA Power-developed Abu Dhabi plant delivers roughly 900,000 m³/day, marking the definitive scale-up of membrane desalination.

A1 · AI-drafted · human-approved1 linked
Wire

Japan begins controlled discharge of ALPS-treated water at Fukushima Daiichi

TEPCO started releasing treated, diluted water in August 2023 under IAEA monitoring; the agency's reviews found the approach consistent with international safety standards.

H2 · Human-only
Wire

Xylem completes $7.5bn all-stock acquisition of Evoqua

The largest pure-play water deal on record combines Xylem's technology portfolio with Evoqua's advanced treatment and outsourced-water services.

A1 · AI-drafted · human-approved1 linked
Analysis

Company watch: Kurita's methodical North American build-out

Through acquisitions including U.S. Water Services and membrane-chemicals specialist Avista, Japan's water-chemicals leader assembled a full-service US platform.

H1 · Human-written · AI-assisted2 linked
Analysis

After the Veolia–Suez combination: the reshaped global services map

The 2022 completion of Veolia's Suez acquisition created an environmental-services super-major — and a re-launched, consortium-owned 'new SUEZ' competing behind it.

H1 · Human-written · AI-assisted2 linked
Wire

LG Chem expands reverse-osmosis membrane capacity at Cheongju

The Korean materials major announced expanded RO element production in 2022, backing its push into large desalination tenders worldwide.

A1 · AI-drafted · human-approved4 linked
Water Intelligence · WaterAtlas