What Does a Decade of Fair Market Deals Tell Us About Water’s Future?

Fair Market Value (FMV) has become a critical—yet often misunderstood—tool for addressing fragmentation across the U.S. water sector. Designed to give municipalities a clearer path and a cleaner valuation when selling assets, FMV is now shaping deal flow, policy debates, and competitive strategies nationwide. In this episode of The Future of Water, podcast host Reese Tisdale is joined by Bluefield colleague Megan Bondar, who has just wrapped up analysis on FMV and its growing role as a legislated mechanism to streamline water and wastewater utility acquisitions. Bluefield's water experts get into why FMV is back in the spotlight, how it differs from traditional acquisitions, and what more than a decade of deal activity reveals about the road ahead. Key discussion points: What prompted Bluefield to undertake this updated Fair Market Value analysis now? What exactly is “Fair Market Value,” and why does it matter in utility M&A? What are the most significant impacts and trends emerging from a decade of FMV deals? Where is FMV being used most today, and how is the competitive landscape evolving? If you enjoy listening to The Future of Water Podcast, please tell a friend or colleague, and if you haven’t already, please click to follow this podcast wherever you listen. If you’d like to be informed of water market news, trends, perspectives and analysis from Bluefield Research, subscribe to Waterline, our weekly newsletter published each Wednesday. Related Research & Analysis: Fair Market Value: Benchmarking a Decade of Water Utility Acquisitions