AWRA Policy Statements

Call for a National Water Vision and Strategy
Approved by The Board of Directors of the American Water Resources Association at their January 21-22, 2011 meeting, as proposed by the Policy Technical Committee of AWRA

Position Statement: The American Water Resources Association recommends development of a national water vision and strategy for how to best use, protect, and manage our water resources.  A national water vision and strategy should be developed to provide a clear framework for sustainable management of our water resources, clarify roles and responsibilities, increase accountability, reduce conflict, improve the integrated management of resources, provide water security for future generations, and save public funds through more effective use of resources.

Rationale: After people, water is our most critical and strategic resource. Yet we have no national vision for its management. Because the threats of aging infrastructure, climate change, and population growth are so significant, the nation can no longer afford to postpone action. It is imperative we initiate a focused effort to create a national water vision and articulate a strategy to sustain the nation's water resources. Our nation's future growth and prosperity will depend upon the sustainable integrated management of its water.

Our nation's planning and regulatory systems are fragmented from top to bottom, resulting in less than optimal cost and environmental effectiveness. The federal government has more than 20 agencies responsible for understanding and managing water resources. As a result there is no clear sense of the federal role and little understanding of the gaps and overlaps amongst agencies. Each state and many tribes have one or more agencies responsible for managing water resources within their areas of jurisdiction. Additionally, hundreds, if not thousands of public- and private-sector entities manage water resources within the U.S. Our institutional arrangements with Canada and Mexico also warrant examination. A national water vision and strategy would provide a blueprint for more effective, coordinated management across sectors and levels of government.

Finally, we need to not only keep up with but lead our global trading partners. New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, Brazil, and the European Union are examples of jurisdictions that have already developed overarching water policies and strategies designed to address the kinds of challenges facing the U.S. It is imperative that the U.S. develop a national vision and strategy of how best to use, protect, fund, and manage our water resources.

A national vision must be translated into strategies and policies that clearly define the roles and responsibilities of federal, state, and local governments and the public, and that establish a blueprint for future action. A successful vision and strategy must take an integrated approach, recognizing that water is inextricably tied to other systems that are already part of the built and natural environment, such as energy generation, land use, and economic development. Even within the world of water, there are various issues-water quality, water quantity, and ecosystem/habitat needs that require closer collaboration than we see today.

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As part of these efforts, there is an immediate need for an assessment of the nation's water resources to include the current status of the resource, the future needs for water, and identification of gaps that exist in fulfilling these needs. At the same time, water managers in the U.S. must also develop more efficient ways to prioritize and use water quantity and quality information for decision making. Policy makers need a way to accurately assess risks, so they can prioritize the resources necessary to protect the nation's water resources.

Critical elements of an effective national water resources management vision and strategy:

• Clean water is a basic human right;
• Integrated water resources management;
• Shared values;
• Broad stakeholder participation and leadership;
• Planning for long term sustainability;
• Clear allocation of responsibility for international, national, tribal, regional, state, county and local entities;
• Communication and branding strategies;
• Integration of federal agencies, programs, and resources irrespective of political boundaries;
• Watershed-based collaborative planning and decision making;
• Ability to evolve and adapt to changing water supplies and conditions;
• Acknowledgement of state, regional and tribal authority and responsibility for several aspects of water quantity and water quality; and
• Initial focus on broad national themes, such as:
  • National water resource assessment;
  • Accounting for the full cost/value of water;
  • Recognition of clean water as a basic human right, an economic good, and an ecological necessity;
  • Strategies for aging infrastructure;
  • Strategies for degraded ecosystems;
  • Conservation and water use efficiency;
  • Strategies of effective use of professional resources;
  • Public education and outreach;
  • Technology transfer and lessons learned;
  • Contingency planning for water emergencies;
  • International water sharing; and
  • Holistic, adaptive systems approach