Water Systems CouncilWSC Releases 2023 State of the U.S. Water Well Industry Report
Strong Home Starts and Economy Drive Cautious Optimism
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- April 11, 2023 -- The Water Systems Council (WSC) has released its 2nd Annual State of the U.S. Water Well Industry report that provides new insights into how the industry looked at the end of 2022 and the outlook for 2023.
Commissioned by WSC and conducted by a third-party company during the fourth quarter of 2022, the 2023 State of the U.S. Water Well Industry Report is the second annual report on the issues and opportunities facing the water well industry.
For the 2023 report, 890 industry professionals were surveyed. Respondents included water well contractors (65%), distributors (22%), manufacturers (11%), and manufacturer representatives (2%). There was a 7% rise in participation in the 2023 survey vs. the 2022 survey.
Survey respondents viewed 2023 with cautious optimism, with the overall positive outlook slipping from 7.3 in 2022 to 6.9 in 2023, a 5% decrease in optimism. Two things drove optimism for 2023: strong home starts and the economy.
The survey also found that the average water well contractor earns $2.4M in annual revenue and has 13 employees. Additional highlights from the new report include:
- Inflation weighs on industry participants as the health of the overall economy jumped to the #2 concern.
- The top workforce challenge across the industry is finding relevant applicants to fill job openings. Respondents report turning to automation and other creative solutions to address workforce changes.
- Workers appreciate working for a small or family-owned business, even if they are not part of the family.
- 66% of respondents rate the impact of regulation on their business as moderate to significant.
- 75% of respondents reported that weather-related events impacted their businesses.
- Contractors continue to have a positive attitude toward adopting new technologies.
- Quality is the most important consideration when making a product purchasing decision.
The Water Systems Council is the only national nonprofit organization solely focused on household wells and small water well systems. WSC is committed to ensuring that Americans who get their water from household private wells have safe, reliable drinking water and to protecting our nation's groundwater resources. For more information, visit watersystemscouncil.org.
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