Why Water, Why Now: Industrial Water as Strategic Infrastructure

In April, HG Ventures will convene a meeting of senior operators, investors, and industry leaders for a focused discussion on industrial water strategy. Here, Ginger Rothrock unpacks why this is such an important yet under-invested area.

Water has a funny way of staying invisible—right up until it becomes the crisis.  And even then, it rarely makes it into the earnings call.

If you operate an industrial site, you already know this. Water shows up in uptime, in quality specs, in permitting, in discharge costs, and increasingly in growth plans. And when the weather is volatile, infrastructure is aging, or regulations tighten, “we’ll figure it out later” stops being a strategy.

Over the past several years, I have had a front-row-seat to founders building some of the most innovative water technologies in the market. From advanced membrane systems to electrochemical treatment and contaminant destruction, these companies are proving that industrial water reuse and resilience are not science projects, but commercially viable solutions that can improve resilience and reduce risk.

And yet, the limiting factor is rarely technology. It is adoption.

For all the talk about climate resilience and industrial competitiveness, water still doesn’t get capital, attention, or executive time in proportion to the role it plays today. In many cases, it doesn’t get mentioned at all. Part of what keeps water invisible is that the consequences accumulate slowly–until they don’t. That shift is already underway.

Water is moving from “utility” to “strategic infrastructure”

Across manufacturing, chemicals, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, logistics, and data infrastructure, water availability, quality, and reliability are shaping operating risk, capital planning, and long-term competitiveness.

Industry accounts for roughly 20% of global freshwater withdrawals. In high-income economies, that share approaches 40–50%. Industrial water strategy is not a niche issue. It is central to supply resilience.

In many regions, the economics of “use once and discharge” are getting harder to justify. Water and wastewater rates have risen steadily across U.S. markets, often outpacing inflation over the past decade. Industry analysts report average annual water and wastewater rate increases in the 3–5% range in many U.S. municipalities, materially changing the ROI profile of reuse investments.

When you combine rising input costs with tighter discharge requirements, reuse starts to look less like an ESG initiative and more like operational discipline.

Expectations are rising. Customers, regulators, and communities want higher assurance around what’s coming in, what’s going out, and what happens when systems fail.

When water becomes a capital allocation decision or a resilience issue rather than a utility bill, the conversation changes.

The Industrial Water Forum

That is why, on April 30, 2026, HG Ventures—together with our co-host Xylem—will convene senior operators, investors, and industry leaders in Indianapolis for the Industrial Water Forum: a focused discussion on advancing industrial water reuse, resource recovery, and infrastructure resilience.

What this event is — and what it is not

Let me be clear about intent.

This is not a conference built around product showcases (and it’s not a “conference”).

It is not a policy debate (but we plan to openly debate).

And it’s definitely not a day of vague optimism.

This is a working session for people making real decisions about capital allocation, modernization roadmaps, tradeoffs, and operational risk.

We’ll dig into why water has become a board-level issue, how leading industrial companies are treating water as strategic infrastructure, and where innovation can actually be deployed at scale—especially in closed-loop reuse, contaminant removal, digital optimization, and resilient treatment.

Most importantly, we’ll pressure-test the hard questions, including:

• Where are the economics compelling today—and where are they still broken?
• What slows adoption most: technical risk, integration, incentives, permitting, procurement, or something else?
• What does “durable” really mean for users and investors in this market—products, channels, margins, and defensibility?
• What needs to be true for reuse to move from pilot to standard practice?

The goal is clarity.

Why HG Ventures is convening this conversation

At HG Ventures, we invest at the intersection of industrial systems, infrastructure, and sustainability. Water sits squarely at that intersection.

I also have the privilege of serving on the boards of companies tackling industrial water challenges from multiple angles, including:

• ZwitterCo, advancing next-generation membranes for difficult-to-treat industrial wastewater
• ElectraMet, deploying automated solutions for metals removal and resource recovery
• Aclarity and FREDsense, addressing PFAS and other persistent contaminants through sensing and treatment technologies
• Avenew, managing road and water assets for municipalities and large private projects.

Scaling industrial water innovation requires alignment between operators, capital providers, regulators, and technology developers.

As part of The Heritage Group, we bring long-term industrial perspective informed by operating experience across waste management and infrastructure-intensive businesses. We prioritize lasting relationships over short term wins.

Our collaboration with Xylem, a global leader in water technology, adds further operational depth and market insight.

It’s a combination that enables us to convene a candid, practical discussion about where industrial water management is working, where it is stalled, and what it will take to accelerate progress.

What we hope to achieve

No one is going to “solve” industrial water in a single day. But I do believe that putting the right people in the same room—operators, innovators, and capital—can move the market forward in a meaningful way.

For me, success looks like:

• sharper shared understanding of what’s real (and what’s hype)
• stronger alignment between innovators and operators on deployment requirements
• clearer signals on where capital and capability can be most effectively deployed next

If participants leave with new relationships, a more realistic view of the opportunity set, and renewed focus on execution, this forum will have done its job.

Registering your interest

Attendance will be limited to ensure a high-quality, candid exchange.

If you are a senior leader or operator with a direct interest in industrial water reuse, resilient infrastructure, or resource recovery, I invite you to register your interest here.