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Water Infrastructure Stocks

Written By Nick Hodge

Posted September 9, 2009

I’ve wanted to put together a piece like this for some time now because of the multiple purposes it serves.

For starters, it partly answers the oft asked question of "Where are the stimulus dollars going?"

It may sound mundane, but the stimulus (or the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act), is actually quite easily tracked at Recovery.org. A quick browse there will answer most propaganda-driven questions being asked in the mainstream.

Secondly, today’s piece legitimizes major trends I’ve been trying to point out to you all year.

Before we get to it, let me remind you of my words back in May:

Take, for example, the $11.28 billion recently allocated to improving our water supply via the stimulus and the president’s budget. Here’s how that sum breaks down:

  • $3.9 billion for EPA Water Loan Programs
  • $6 billion for EPA Clean Water State Revolving Funds
  • $1.38 billion for the USDA Rural Water and Waste Disposal Program

The total sum is greater than the entire gross domestic product of Cambodia. And it’s all going to alleviate out water problems.

Such is the benefit of living in a wealthy nation. The cumulative "they" won’t let anything too bad happen. We’re spoiled enough to know that Uncle Sam will always provide.

But there’s more to it than just having the simple things readily available. . . water at the tap, a well-connected highway system. You can also profit from them.

Because Uncle Sam is just like, well, a rich uncle. He’ll pay for you to get things done, but he won’t do them himself.

This oft overlooked bridge is the key to easy profits.

A Bridge to Somewhere

The government is just providing the funding for these projects. Funding that you contributed to via taxes or from debt we’ve outsourced.

Those funds then go to companies that provide desired services. . . companies that you can invest in for profit. I’ll call this the funding bridge. And most government projects have it.

It’s why Northrup and Lockheed profit during wartime. And it’s why biotechs soar when they get government funding or approval.

I’m sure even the "Bridge to Nowhere" would’ve had a profit bridge to somewhere.

But this funding bridge is just getting started. According to Recovery.gov, only $36.8 million of stimulus dollars have been spent. The Feds will be spending that money for the next four years.

And if you get into the right companies now, you could be profiting the entire time.

Companies are lining up to get the funding. And serious investors are lining up right behind them.

Well, it’s been a few months since then. Much more than $36.8 million of the stimulus money has been spent. And, as I predicted, many stock gains have been made as a result.

But there’s still plenty of time to profit from this years-long event. So let’s see if we can reconnect with that funding bridge.

Water Running Under Your Nose

Billions of dollars have gone out the federal door since I forecast a profit bridge would emerge from the stimulus. And a profit bridge has clearly emerged.

Today, we’ll explore both sides of the bridge with respect to water.

Here’s a list of just water-related funding I painstakingly compiled from the Environmental Protection Agency’s stimulus website:

  • New Jersey received over $43 million for drinking water infrastructure improvements.

  • New Jersey received over $160 million for waste water infrastructure improvements.

  • Michigan received $1.7 million to improve water quality.

  • Wisconsin, Alabama, South Carolina and Missouri received over $114 million for drinking water infrastructure improvements.

  • Alabama, South Carolina, Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri, Guam, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands received over $253 million for waste water infrastructure improvements.

  • South Carolina, Georgia, Guam, and American Samoa received over $1 million to improve water quality.

  • Colorado received $6.9 million for drinking water infrastructure improvements.

  • Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands received $2.9 million for clean water and drinking water improvements.

  • Alaska received $.2 million to improve water quality and create jobs.

  • Minnesota and New Jersey received over $200 million to improve water quality.

  • U.S. EPA, Campo Band of Mission Indians, Indian Health Service celebrates more than $1.6 million in drinking water infrastructure improvements.

  • EPA announces $93.7 million Recovery Act funds for wastewater infrastructure projects in Pennsylvania to boost economy, create jobs, and protect the environment.

  • EPA awarded more than one million dollars in ARRA funding for water quality planning in the state of Wisconsin.

  • EPA awarded over $94 million in ARRA funding for drinking water infrastructure projects in the states of Indiana, Colorado and Tennessee and the Territory of Puerto Rico.

  • EPA awarded over $267 million in ARRA funding for waste water infrastructure projects in the states of Louisiana, Indiana, Utah and Tennessee and the Territory of Puerto Rico.

  • EPA awarded $7.5 million in ARRA funding for water quality planning in the states of New York, New Jersey, Colorado, Utah and Tennessee and the Territory of Puerto Rico.

  • EPA awarded ARRA funding for drinking water infrastructure projects in the State of Texas ($160M).

  • EPA and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s (HHS) Indian Health Service (IHS) announced $90 million in ARRA funds for improved access to drinking water and wastewater services in American Indian and Alaska Native communities.

  • EPA awarded ARRA funding for clean water infrastructure projects in the State of Delaware ($19.2M).

  • EPA awarded ARRA funding for clean water infrastructure projects in the State of Maine ($30M).

  • EPA announced ARRA funding for drinking water infrastructure projects in the State of Ohio ($133.1M).

  • EPA awarded ARRA funding for clean water infrastructure projects in the States of Ohio ($52.3M).

  • EPA announced ARRA funding for drinking water infrastructure projects in the state of West Virginia ($15.6M).

  • EPA announced ARRA funding for Water Quality Management projects in the states of Ohio, Missouri, California, North Carolina, Iowa, Oklahoma and Louisiana totaling $7.9 M.

  • EPA awarded ARRA funding for clean water infrastructure projects in the states of Alaska and Oregon totaling $67.8M and announced funding for water infrastructure projects in Delaware and Colorado totaling $44.3M.

  • EPA announced ARRA funding for drinking water infrastructure projects in the states of Georgia and Maryland totaling $81.5M.

  • EPA announced ARRA funding for clean water infrastructure projects in the states of Maryland and Washington totaling $163.0M.

  • EPA announced ARRA funding for drinking water infrastructure projects in the states of Illinois, Ohio, Minnesota and Mississippi totaling $192.6M.

  • EPA announced ARRA funding for clean water infrastructure projects in the states of North Dakota, Ohio, Minnesota and Illinois totaling $489M.

  • EPA announced ARRA funding for water quality management planning in the states of Arkansas, New Mexico and Connecticut totaling $937.3K.

  • EPA announced ARRA funding for drinking water infrastructure projects in the states of North Dakota and Florida, totaling $107.7M.

  • EPA announced ARRA funding for clean water infrastructure projects in the states of Wyoming, South Dakota and Montana, totaling $116.7M.

  • EPA announced ARRA funding for water quality management planning in the states of Nebraska, Mississippi, Kentucky, Florida and Alabama, totaling $2.8M.

  • EPA announced ARRA funding for clean water infrastructure projects in the states of Arizona and Nevada for a total of $45.7 M.

  • EPA announced ARRA funding for drinking water infrastructure projects in the states of Arizona, Nevada and Delaware for a total of $94.3 M.

  • EPA announced ARRA funding for Water Quality Management Planning grants in the states of Kansas, Arizona and Nevada for a total of $818K.

  • EPA announced ARRA funding for clean water infrastructure projects in the states of Oklahoma and Iowa totaling $84.7 million.

  • EPA announced ARRA funding totaling $133.1 million for drinking water infrastructure projects in the states of North Carolina, and Michigan and ARRA funding totaling $336.2 for clean water infrastructure projects in the states of Florida, Michigan, and Kansas.

  • EPA announced ARRA funding for drinking water infrastructure projects to the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Kentucky and Maine totaling $129.8 million.

Sorry for the long list, but I feel it’s important to draw your attention to all water funding measures taken to date.

It’s quite a list. . . tipping the scale at almost $4 billion. And yet, that’s not even half of the water funding slated to come down the pike. In total, there’s over $11 billion available to do everything from installing new water meters to building entire new treatment plants.

Half of this profit bridge has been firmly created. . . and there’s still more to come. From Alaska to Puerto Rico, pipes are being laid and profits are being made.

So how’s the other side of the bridge coming along?

Going With the Flow

As I said would happen, the profit side of the bridge is also coming together nicely. Had you heeded my advice of yore — and invested in water stocks — you would’ve already turned some nice returns.

Simply holding a broad-based water ETF since the stimulus was signed would’ve netted you anywhere from 50-75% already. Take a look:

Water ETFs

That’s something I told you to do when all this money began flowing. In a separate article than the one mentioned above, I said:

This is the kick-off party to years of easy water investing. If you’re going it alone, I’d suggest holding a water ETF or two.

That statement came just before I showed you a chart of the same four water ETFs seen above. Of course, they were trading much lower at the time.

And individual water stocks have delivered even harder-hitting gains. Members of my Alternative Energy Speculator cashed out of Flowserve (NYSE: FLS) during its recent 100% run. And we’re sitting nicely in Layne Christensen (NASDAQ: LAYN) and Lindsay Corp. (NYSE: LNN) as they make similar ascents:

Water Stocks

But even with all the water profits being made, my advice still stands: Holding a water ETF is still the best way to profit as the water bull continues to run.

Profits from individual companies — while often much higher — are a bit harder to come by. They take more acute research, precise timing, and an intimate knowledge of the sector.

If those are the types of gains you’re after, I can help you get them with the Alternative Energy Speculator. The thousands of investors that follow advice have already closed more than 30 double-digit winners this year. . . many as a direct result of water-related funding.

This elite community is where investors get my premium research and learn how to profit from it. For water, that means finding out not only how much capital is flowing (as you just learned), but on whose balance sheet it will add up. It means 50% gains from individual companies and specific knowledge rather than 25% from an ETF based on a guess.

And the system is paying off. Take a second to read about the success of this investment style and the readers that adhere to it.

Thousands of wealthier readers and dozens of double-digit winners so far this year can’t be wrong.

Call it like you see it,

Nick Hodge

Nick

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