SPECIAL SECTION | Valves & Actuators
Future-Proofing Water Infrastructure in an Era of Change
A valve manufacturer may be just as important as the valves themselves.
Mark Gimson | Cla-Val
Municipal infrastructure decisions are rarely about the next budget cycle. In North America, they are often decisions that affect communities for generations. Pressure reducing valves, altitude valves, surge anticipation systems and flow control infrastructure may sit quietly underground or inside treatment facilities for decades, expected to perform with little fanfare and even less interruption. That reality changes how utilities should think about selecting a control valve supplier.
Too often, procurement still revolves around the immediate specification checklist: pressure class, certifications, lead time and price. Those items matter, of course, but they no longer tell the full story. The larger question facing municipalities today is whether the supplier itself is built for the long term.
Utilities are dealing with aging infrastructure, tightening budgets, workforce turnover, evolving cybersecurity expectations and growing operational complexity. Against that backdrop, choosing a valve manufacturer has become less about buying a product and more about selecting a long-term engineering partner.
The reality is that many municipalities across North America are still operating control valves installed decades ago. Some systems continue to rely on infrastructure commissioned long before digital supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) integration became standard practice. What matters in those situations is not simply whether the valve originally met specification, but whether replacement parts, technical support and engineering knowledge still exist years later.
Utilities should be asking practical questions. Has the product platform remained stable over time? Are parts standardized and accessible? Is technical knowledge institutionalized within the company or concentrated in a handful of individuals nearing retirement themselves?
That continuity has become increasingly important as water systems grow more hydraulically complex. Higher pressures, denser urban development, variable frequency drive (VFD) pumping systems and stricter fire flow requirements have changed the operational demands placed on distribution infrastructure. Cavitation control, surge mitigation and transient protection are no longer niche engineering concerns reserved for unusual applications. They are becoming routine considerations across municipal systems.
In practice, this is where the distinction between a supplier and an engineering partner becomes obvious. A supplier focused purely on order processing will confirm valve size and move on. A long-term partner asks about operating conditions, pressure differentials, future expansion plans and system behavior during upset conditions. They contribute engineering expertise that helps utilities avoid problems years before they emerge.
Digital integration has also entered the conversation in a meaningful way. Remote monitoring, predictive maintenance, asset management integration and operational visibility are steadily becoming standard expectations within municipal operations. Even utilities that are not fully digitized are likely to modernize during the operational lifespan of valves currently being installed. That raises another important consideration: Can the equipment evolve alongside the utility?
Many manufacturers are now introducing hybrid electronic and hydraulic technologies that allow traditional mechanical reliability to coexist with modern monitoring capabilities. The objective is not to replace proven hydraulic control systems, but to enhance visibility and operational awareness where it adds value. Equally important is ensuring that digital integration is approached responsibly, with attention paid to cybersecurity and operational resilience.
Recent supply chain disruptions have also forced municipalities to reconsider sourcing strategies. Long lead times, shipping volatility and overseas manufacturing bottlenecks have exposed vulnerabilities that many utilities had not previously factored into procurement decisions. For critical infrastructure expected to remain operational for decades, manufacturing strategy matters. Utilities are increasingly paying attention to domestic production capacity, regional inventory availability, vertical integration and whether key manufacturing processes are controlled internally or outsourced.
The workforce challenge facing the water industry adds another layer to the discussion. Across Canada and the United States, experienced operators and maintenance personnel are retiring in significant numbers. As institutional knowledge leaves the industry, utilities are relying more heavily on suppliers that provide structured training, accessible technical support and strong field service capability. Future-proofing infrastructure increasingly means future-proofing operational knowledge as well.
Regulatory expectations continue to evolve at the same time. Material standards, certification requirements and compliance frameworks are becoming more demanding and more visible. Manufacturers actively involved in standards organizations and industry committees are often better positioned to anticipate those changes and adapt accordingly. That proactive approach can help municipalities avoid costly retrofits or compliance challenges later in the asset life cycle.
Ultimately, the discussion often returns to life cycle cost versus initial purchase price. For example, control valves are rarely replaced because they are too expensive. More often, they are replaced because they failed prematurely, became difficult to service or were discovered to have been improperly applied to the system conditions from the start. If lower-cost equipment creates years of maintenance headaches, downtime or energy inefficiency, it can quickly become the more expensive option over the life of the infrastructure.
For municipalities planning infrastructure investments measured in decades rather than years, the most important question may also be the simplest: Will this supplier still be standing behind the installation 30 years from now?
In municipal water systems, reliability is rarely dramatic. Properly functioning control valves do not attract headlines or public attention. They quietly regulate pressure zones, protect pumps, manage reservoir levels and help prevent costly failures every single day. Behind that quiet reliability, however, is the strength—or weakness—of the supplier supporting the infrastructure.
Future-proofing a water system requires more than a compliant product on bid day. It requires a manufacturer with engineering depth, long-term stability, operational support capability and a commitment to standing behind its equipment for the full life cycle of the asset. In the municipal sector, that life cycle is often measured not in years, but in generations.
Mark Gimson trained as a mechanical engineer in the U.K. before relocating to Canada, where he built a career in the water industry—first with consulting engineering firms, then in technical sales and marketing. Over the decades, he has sold control valves and trained water operators on valve applications across the globe. Gimson currently serves as director of marketing at Cla-Val Company. For more information, visit cla-val.com.
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