Water and wastewater construction is one of the strongest sectors we're recruiting into in 2026. The market is growing 5-8% annually, driven by federal compliance mandates and infrastructure funding, not market cycles. Here's why that matters: 82% of firms can't fill hourly craft positions, and 80% are struggling to place salaried roles. We're seeing 298,000+ open construction positions nationally, with water/wastewater projects specifically creating 349,000 net new worker needs this year alone. For senior placements, PMs, estimators, superintendents, project engineers, water utilities offer stability other verticals don't have. Salary-wise, construction managers in this space range $115K, $145K base, with top performers hitting $175K+. The real bottleneck isn't job count; it's finding people who can execute under pressure on complex public utility work. If you're a PM or estimator with water/wastewater experience, or a client hiring for these roles, demand is acute and wage growth is outpacing the broader construction market.