Water is life. And today, there seems to be either too much or not enough of it, depending on where you are and sometimes even both within a short period of time.

On March 24, 2026, “World Water Day,” United for Infrastructure hosted an incredible event called “State of The Water Sector 2026: A Dialogue on Emerging Trends in U.S. Water Policy” at the Reservoir Center in Washington, D.C. I was honored to give the opening remarks for a daylong forum on where we are and where we’re going.

Some of My Thoughts

As we all know, water is critical to people and places for everyday life. Whether it’s drinking water, wastewater or stormwater, these systems meet an essential need for residents, communities and industry—and are central to wellbeing and quality of life. In a modern society, water is a right and not a privilege.

How can we treat water as a strategic economic asset and value it that way? Globally, approximately 35 percent of water is lost through leakage and system inefficiencies (iimag.link/AsJnc). How far could water reuse and reducing water lost from infrastructure leaks go toward covering the additional water required by the AI economy in your city?

As leaders, advocates and professionals in the water industry, we have a duty to promote conservation and environmentally responsible development of water resources. GHD does an annual deep dive into one of its Strategic Growth Initiatives. A couple of years ago, GHD focused on the economics of water risk and future resilience in the global report, “Aquanomics” (aquanomics.ghd.com).

The Aquanomics model projects water risk could result in a total loss of $3.7 trillion to U.S. GDP between 2022 and 2050. In direct losses, storms are predicted to account for more than half of the overall damage ($1.4 trillion) followed by floods ($645 billion) and droughts ($432 billion).

One Size Fits None

Building future water resilience will require solutions as diverse as the types of water risks.

• We need to reauthorize the Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds with no less than $14.65 billion over five years.

• We need to ensure adequate funding is available for lead service-line removal and addressing contaminants such as PFAS.

• In the United States, water management is largely at the state level. In August 2023, the President’s National Infrastructure Advisory Council created a report on “Preparing the United States’ Critical Infrastructure for Today’s Evolving Water Crises.” One of the major recommendations was that the United States needs to establish a cabinet-level agency Department of Water, as exists in every other major modern economy. There are more than 20 agencies that have jurisdiction over water and, as such, there’s cross-cutting policy and no comprehensive framework. Water issues don’t acknowledge geopolitical jurisdictions.

• As collaboration to manage river basins and aquifers for water security becomes more complex, many interstate water disputes are settled in courts of law.

• We need to embrace advanced digital solutions and data to improve the management and efficiency of the water cycle, enabling more effective maintenance. Predictive modeling will allow water-supply clients to be proactive toward climate stress.

So how can we tackle the challenge? Governments, businesses, communities and the water sector must adopt a long-term strategic view of resource management, focusing on three key principles:

1. Adapt. Build future resilience into new projects, rapidly adapting to evolving risk.

2. Optimize. Improve performance of existing infrastructure with advanced technologies and data-driven insights. For sectors such as agriculture, irrigation practices based on intelligent asset management can reduce the water needed for production as well as waste. This is crucial in the world’s thirstiest industry, as food production accounts for almost 70 percent of global water withdrawals.

3. Prioritize. Put regenerative and nature-based solutions first. A circular economy approach to water management is crucial. This will improve long-term durability.

Every four years, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) puts out an assessment of U.S. infrastructure through its “Report Card for America’s Infrastructure.” The latest report, released almost a year ago, is encouraging. Assigned a “C” overall—the report’s highest-ever grade—improvements are being realized largely due to renewed federal investments in recent years. However, challenges remain with much work left to do, especially in water infrastructure. Drinking water received a “C-”, wastewater “D+” and stormwater a “D-”; all grades unchanged from four years ago. Multiple challenges remain to ensuring these systems can meet future demands. ASCE recommends actions promoting investment, innovation and resilience.

So, what are we waiting for? Let’s do this!