Report + data available for immediate purchase and download

With 4.6 million miles of installed pipe, municipal water and wastewater networks in the U.S. and Canada are aging faster than they are being renewed. Current annual replacement and rehabilitation rates average less than 1%, effectively extending renewal cycles beyond a century.

While traditional dig-and-replace methods remain the go-to approach, trenchless technologies have built a meaningful foothold, especially in urban areas. In these congested cities, which hold 58% of installed pipe, the benefits of minimized excavation, faster project timelines, and reduced surface disruptions (e.g., street closures, business impacts) make trenchless methods more economically appealing compared to dig-and-replace. As trenchless technologies continue to advance, utilities are increasingly considering them as preferred options rather than just alternatives.

Currently, drinking water systems replace pipes at roughly 0.57% per year on average, while wastewater systems do so at just 0.29%. This slow pace puts much of the network at a critical inflection point as decades of underinvestment catch up with utilities. Adoption of trenchless methods is strongest in wastewater, where easier manhole access and less stringent regulations facilitate their deployment. In contrast, drinking water utilities are lagging despite a growing interest in these technologies.

This 2026–2035 forecast presents total spend—encompassing capital expenditures and operating expenditures—on trenchless methods for pipe installation, rehabilitation, and replacement within municipal networks across the U.S. and Canada. The market size is segmented by geography, project type, technology type, pipe diameter, and water type, with assumptions differentiated across all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and the 10 Canadian provinces.