The Water and Wastewater Equipment Manufacturers Association and Boenning & Scattergood released the 2016 third-quarter WWEMA/Boenning Leading Demand Index, which rates funding conditions for municipal water and wastewater projects. The index increased slightly in the third quarter, reversing a recent downward trend. The index reports that water and wastewater utilities are continuing to expand payrolls. Also, water and wastewater equipment demand has improved, water stocks rebounded sharply in the third quarter, ductile iron pipe prices reversed a second-quarter slide, and the housing market remains a wild card that could complicate recovery.