Municipal Sewer & Water

What Municipal Sewer & Water does

Municipal Sewer & Water (MSW) is a monthly trade magazine and associated media platform serving sanitary sewer, storm water, and drinking water system maintenance professionals across North America. Operated by COLE Publishing, Inc., a privately held Wisconsin-based trade publisher that also runs seven related trade titles covering adjacent infrastructure and services trades (Cleaner, Dig Different, Onsite Installer, Plumber, Portable Restroom Operator, Pumper, and Treatment Plant Operator), MSW has been continuously published since 2008 with the July 2026 issue currently in circulation. The company's headquarters (PO Box 2707, Eagle River, WI) reflects the small, closely-held nature of the parent (11-50 employees, no external funding, no public revenue disclosure).

MSW's product surface centers on a monthly print magazine and a paired digital e-zine, supported by weekly and periodic email newsletters (including the entry-level worker-focused "Dirty Drops Weekly"), the "Cleaner, MSW, Plumber Podcast," a video and webinar library, whitepapers and case studies, a manufacturers directory, and a classifieds marketplace for buying and selling municipal sewer and water equipment. The underlying technology is a web-based publishing platform with subscription management, digital delivery, and content management tailored to the municipal infrastructure vertical; the company maintains an active presence across Facebook, X, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and TikTok and provides editorial coverage of major industry events including the WWETT Show.

MSW operates a three-stream revenue model: paid print and digital magazine subscriptions (annual billing), advertising and sponsored content from equipment manufacturers and service providers (web, e-newsletter, and sponsored articles), and transaction/list fees from the online classifieds marketplace. The customer base is split between municipal utility and public works departments (the primary editorial audience) and equipment manufacturers and contractors (the primary advertiser base). The publication covers both U.S. and Canadian municipal projects, including case studies of Castle Rock Water (CO), Naperville Department of Public Utilities (IL), City of Calgary Water Services (AB), and Rankin Inlet (Nunavut).

Name

Municipal Sewer & Water

Legal name

COLE Publishing, Inc.

Website

https://mswmag.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Municipal Sewer & Water (MSW) is a North American monthly trade magazine and media platform for sanitary sewer, storm water, and water system maintenance professionals, operated by privately held COLE Publishing and monetized via subscriptions, advertising, and a classifieds marketplace.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Trade Publishing

NAICS

Water, Sewage and Other Systems (2213)

SIC

Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Works & Municipal Infrastructure (Streets, Stormwater, Facilities) (BPAIACAF)

Keywords

• Trade publication services
• Municipal infrastructure media
• Wastewater industry news
• Sewer maintenance content
• Stormwater management publishing

Headquarters

HQ city

Eagle River

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Magazine Subscriptions: Paid magazine subscriptions delivered in print and/or digital (e-zine) format to municipal sewer, water, and stormwater maintenance professionals. Subscriptions are offered with customer numbers and postal codes for account management.
2. Advertising: The magazine generates revenue through web and e-newsletter advertising placements, media kit offerings for advertisers, and sponsored content including product spotlights and sponsored articles from industry manufacturers and service providers.
3. Classifieds Marketplace: Online classifieds section featuring equipment for sale including CCTV inspection units, vacuum trucks, trailers, and other municipal sewer/water equipment, with listing fees for sellers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Municipal Sewer & Water is a monthly trade publication and media platform serving sanitary, storm, and water system maintenance professionals. Its core offerings are the print and digital magazine, an industry-specific e-newsletter (Dirty Drops), a podcast, an online classifieds marketplace for municipal equipment, and editorial coverage of the WWETT trade show, all delivered through a web-based subscription and content management platform.

Product overview

Municipal Sewer & Water is a trade magazine and media platform published by COLE Publishing. The publication covers industry news, equipment, best practices, and real-world solutions for municipal sewer, water, and stormwater systems. The core product is the monthly magazine publication, supported by complementary offerings including the Dirty Drops Newsletter (with both standard and weekly variants for entry-level workers), the Cleaner/MSW/Plumber Podcast, a Classifieds marketplace for equipment transactions, and the annual WWETT Show trade expo. The publication also offers digital content including videos, webinars, whitepapers, and case studies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Municipal Sewer & Water Magazine A monthly trade magazine delivered in print and digital e-zine formats to municipal sewer, water, and stormwater maintenance professionals, covering industry news, equipment, best practices, case studies, and real-world solutions.
• Dirty Drops Newsletter Weekly no-nonsense newsletter delivering content for water and wastewater entry-level workers with bite-size resources and industry basics.
• Cleaner, MSW, Plumber Podcast Industry podcast covering topics related to sewer, water, and plumbing sectors.
• Classifieds Marketplace Online marketplace for buying and selling equipment including sewer inspection units, trailers, combination trucks, and other municipal sewer and water equipment, with listing fees for sellers.
• WWETT Show Annual trade show and expo for the water and wastewater equipment industry, with editorial coverage provided by Municipal Sewer & Water.

Quantifiable outcome

• Full cost recovery of Ice Pigging force main cleaning within nine months for Naperville utility
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Stormwater Magazine: B2B trade title focused on stormwater management for municipalities and engineering firms. Comparable to MSW as a niche vertical trade publication with overlapping advertisers and a closely related audience segment.
• Public Works Magazine: B2B trade publication serving municipal public works professionals, including water, sewer, and stormwater departments. Highly comparable to MSW's audience and content, with broader scope but directly overlapping subscribers and advertisers.
• Water & Wastes Digest: Established B2B trade publication covering municipal water and wastewater treatment professionals. Closely comparable to MSW as a competing trade title in the same audience, with the same print + digital + advertising + classifieds monetization model.
• Cleaner Magazine: COLE Publishing sister title focused on the sewer and drain cleaning industry. Directly comparable B2B trade publication serving an adjacent municipal contractor audience, with the same subscription/advertising/classifieds model.
• Onsite Installer: COLE Publishing sister title for decentralized wastewater and onsite system professionals. Closely comparable in format, monetization, and target buyer to MSW, with overlapping but distinct audiences in the same wastewater infrastructure vertical.
• Pumper Magazine: COLE Publishing sister title covering the portable sanitation and septic pumping industry. Comparable as a B2B trade publication in the broader wastewater services ecosystem, sharing the same operating model, audience type, and revenue streams.
• WaterWorld: Long-running B2B trade media brand serving municipal and industrial water professionals. Directly comparable to MSW in audience, editorial coverage, and advertising-supported business model within the water/wastewater sector.
• Treatment Plant Operator: Sister publication under COLE Publishing covering municipal wastewater treatment plant operators. Directly comparable as a B2B trade title in the same municipal water/wastewater vertical, sharing parent-company infrastructure, sales team, and audience with MSW.
• Dig Different: COLE Publishing sister title covering underground construction and trenchless technology. Comparable B2B trade media property in the municipal infrastructure space, with overlapping advertisers and readers.

Emerging players

• Water Online: Digital-first B2B media and content community serving the water and wastewater treatment market. Comparable to MSW in audience and content, but differentiated as a digital-native platform representing the direction trade media is heading.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/MSWmagazine
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/MunicipalSewerWater
• Facebookfacebook.com/MSWmag
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/municipal-sewer-&-water-magazine
• Instagraminstagram.com/msw.magazine
• TikToktiktok.com/@mswmag

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Municipal Sewer & Water