Private equity firm KKR & Co LP on Thursday kicked off a joint venture with Suez Environment to run the water and wastewater systems of a New Jersey city it hopes will become a model for cash-strapped local authorities in the United States.


KKR and Suez subsidiary United Water will pay $150 million to the city of Bayonne for the rights to a 40-year concession, allowing them to collect water and wastewater revenues but also requiring them to come up with another $157 million over the life of the contract to manage and upgrade the systems.

The cost of repairing and expanding U.S. drinking water infrastructure will top $1 trillion in the next 25 years, an expense that is likely to be met primarily through higher water bills and local fees, according to the American Water Works Association, a non-profit think tank.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/...e=domesticNews

my bet: private equity KKR/Suez will deliver tier water quality for higher price, sooner or later.