Water securityAmerica’s water infrastructure is failing -- but we could start fixing it

By Sarah Fecht

Published 8 May 2018

America’s water is under threat from many sides. It faces pollution problems, outdated infrastructure, rising costs, and unprecedented droughts and rainfall patterns as the climate changes. For decades, the U.S. has been a leader in water management. Now we’re falling behind; in the latest infrastructure report card, dams, drinking water and wastewater all received D ratings. Experts offer solutions.

America’s water is under threat from many sides. It faces pollution problems, outdated infrastructure, rising costs, and unprecedented droughts and rainfall patterns as the climate changes. Yet at a recent event hosted by the Columbia Water Center, the tone was cautiously optimistic, and the conversation centered on solutions.

“If we have aging infrastructure that’s falling apart, and we’re dealing with climate variability and change, isn’t that a good opportunity to actually do something?” suggested Upmanu Lall, director of the Columbia Water Center.

For decades, the U.S. has been a leader in water management. Now we’re falling behind; in the latest infrastructure report card, dams, drinking water and wastewater all received D ratings. But Lall thinks the country could get an A. Here are some of the solutions, presented at the event, that could help to get us there.

Create national-level governance
Water is very good at ignoring municipal boundaries, so one town’s water use or pollutant dumping can affect other cities or states that rely on the same water supply. That’s why many countries—including, the U.K., Canada, Australia, and Mexico—have a national water authority or commission that oversees water management across the country. Not so for the U.S.

“In the U.S., we’re exactly the opposite,” said Hubert Fleming, head of Global Water Management at Anglo Saxon. Instead, he said, the nation’s water is managed by “58,000 municipalities, every single one of them doing their own thing.” That makes it difficult to initiate and complete more ambitious, regional projects.

“We have a Department of Energy at the federal cabinet position—what’s wrong with a Department of Water?” asks Fleming. “I would argue that water is as significant is as significant in this country as energy is.”