The Times They Are A-Changin’: WEFTEC 2021 Review of Industrial Markets

In 1964, Bob Dylan wrote “The slow one now will later be fast, as the present now will later be past”. COVID-19 has impacted the way people have lived, traveled, and worked over the past couple of years. On-line shopping and deliveries in cardboard boxes increased, commuting to work and air travel decreased, all while a global vaccination effort was underway. The resulting short- and long-term positive and negative effects to different industrial sectors have also affected industrial water use, wastewater production, and treatment needs. At WEFTEC 2021, a panel of global experts discussed the current and future risks and opportunities in different industrial sectors. This paper is a summary of the key points from the session.