Water distribution and related services market in Europe: size, suppliers and public contracts

Market size and key facts

In 2025, public buyers in 30 European countries awarded 15 supply contracts for water distribution and related services through award notices on TED; the 12 of them that state a value (80%) add up to €8.09 million.

  • Since November 2023, 35 companies have won 47 public supply contracts for water distribution and related services in 30 European countries, in 37 award notices from 34 public buyers.
  • 4.3% of these awards went to a company registered in a different country from the buyer; the most frequent foreign origin is Netherlands.
  • The five companies that win most often hold 29.8% of all awards across Europe.
  • 40.5% of the awards whose notice states the number of tenders received a single bid.

In proportion

All public purchasing in the EU-27 — general government spending on goods, services and investment, the measure the OECD and the European Commission use for public procurement — came to €2.93 trillion in 2025, 15.5% of GDP (Eurostat). Award notices on TED cover only the contracts above the EU thresholds, so they show who wins, not the whole of that spending.

Source: Eurostat, government finance statistics (gov_10a_main, gov_10a_exp) and GDP (nama_10_gdp), retrieved 9 November 2026.

Updated · counted daily from contract award notices on TED and Eurostat international trade data · figures as JSON · free to quote with attribution (CC BY 4.0)

How to cite: Cresques, "Water distribution and related services market in Europe", https://cresques.com/markets/europe/651-water-distribution-and-related-services, from TED contract award notices (© European Union) and Eurostat Comext, updated 13 November 2026. Licence: CC BY 4.0.

CPV group 651 across the EU, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein: how much public buyers award, who wins, where from, and how the market splits by country.

The market in numbers

Public supply contracts in Europe: award notices published on TED from 2023-11 to 2026-11, by publication year.

Contracts awarded
47
in 37 award notices
Awarded value
€19.3M
from 70% of awards with a published value
Winning companies
35
with at least one award
Public buyers
34
hospitals, cities, agencies
Contracts awarded by year
Contracts awarded by yearNov–Dec 2023: 11Nov–Dec 20232024: 121220242025: 151520252026: 19192026
Table view
Contracts awarded by year
Nov–Dec 20231
202412
202515
202619
Awarded value by year (EUR)
Awarded value by year (EUR)Nov–Dec 2023: €714K€714KNov–Dec 20232024: €8.1M€8.1M20242025: €8.1M€8.1M20252026: €2.3M€2.3M2026
Table view
Awarded value by year (EUR)
Nov–Dec 2023€714K
2024€8.1M
2025€8.1M
2026€2.3M
Who buys: contracts by buyer sector
  1. Cities, regions and central administration: 23
  2. Water utilities: 7
  3. Hospitals and health services: 6
  4. Universities, schools and research: 4
  5. Electricity utilities: 2
  6. Culture, sport and religion: 2
  7. Urban transport operators: 2
  8. Armed forces and defence agencies: 1
Table view
Who buys: contracts by buyer sector
Cities, regions and central administration23
Water utilities7
Hospitals and health services6
Universities, schools and research4
Electricity utilities2
Culture, sport and religion2
Urban transport operators2
Armed forces and defence agencies1
Contracts by buyer country
  1. Poland12
    8 companies
    Poland: 12
  2. France9
    8 companies
    France: 9
  3. Germany6
    4 companies
    Germany: 6
  4. Spain6
    3 companies
    Spain: 6
  5. Norway4
    2 companies
    Norway: 4
  6. Sweden2
    2 companies
    Sweden: 2
  7. Belgium2
    2 companies
    Belgium: 2
  8. Denmark2
    2 companies
    Denmark: 2
  9. Portugal1
    1 companies
    Portugal: 1
  10. Slovakia1
    1 companies
    Slovakia: 1
Table view
Contracts by buyer country
Poland12
France9
Germany6
Spain6
Norway4
Sweden2
Belgium2
Denmark2
Portugal1
Slovakia1
Who wins, by company size as declared in the notice
Who wins, by company size as declared in the notice: Large companies 36.2%, Medium-sized 19.1%, Small 4.3%, SME (size not stated) 14.9%, Size not stated 25.5%Large companies: 17 (36.2%)36%Medium-sized: 9 (19.1%)19%Small: 2 (4.3%)SME (size not stated): 7 (14.9%)15%Size not stated: 12 (25.5%)26%
  • Large companies
  • Medium-sized
  • Small
  • SME (size not stated)
  • Size not stated
Table view
Who wins, by company size as declared in the notice
Large companies17 · 36.2%
Medium-sized9 · 19.1%
Small2 · 4.3%
SME (size not stated)7 · 14.9%
Size not stated12 · 25.5%
Foreign winners: where they are registered
  1. Netherlands2
    Netherlands: 2
Table view
Foreign winners: where they are registered
Netherlands2

Awards to companies registered in the buyer's own country

95.7%

Awards to companies registered in the buyer's own country: 95.7%

2 awards went to companies registered elsewhere.

Share of the 5 biggest winners

29.8%

Share of the 5 biggest winners: 29.8%

Of all awards; a high share means a concentrated market.

Lots with a single bid

40.5%

Lots with a single bid: 40.5%

Among 42 awards whose notice states the number of tenders.

How we count: one award per procedure, lot and winning company, from live contract award notices; a joint procurement counts on every buyer's market. Values are the awarded amounts published in the notice (framework ceilings and estimates are never added), converted to euro at the ECB yearly average. Company size is the SME flag of the notice (eForms BT-165). Read the methodology.

Country pages

    Countries with fewer than 25 winning companies in this group have no separate page; their awards are counted above.

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    Questions

    How big is the water distribution and related services market in Europe?
    In 2025, public buyers in 30 European countries awarded 15 supply contracts for water distribution and related services through award notices on TED; the 12 of them that state a value (80%) add up to €8.09 million.
    How many public contracts for water distribution and related services are awarded in Europe?
    Since November 2023 public buyers in 30 European countries awarded 47 supply contracts for water distribution and related services in 37 TED award notices; the 33 awards with a published value add up to €19.3M.
    Which countries buy the most water distribution and related services through public tenders?
    Poland (12 awards), France (9 awards), Germany (6 awards) lead; 35 companies won at least one award across Europe.
    How often do foreign suppliers win water distribution and related services contracts?
    4.3% of the awards went to a company registered in another country than the buyer; the most frequent foreign origin is Netherlands.

    Source: contract award notices on TED — Tenders Electronic Daily (ted.europa.eu), © European Union, published since November 2023; processed by Cresques. Numbers updated 2026-11-13.