As we navigate an increasingly complex political landscape, it’s clear that opinions and ideology – more often than in the past – are overshadowing sound science, practical engineering principles, and financial realities. NACWA must rise above this clamor and ensure that our messaging as an essential services sector is consistently heard loud and clear in the short-term and well into the future. We want to position ourselves locally and nationally to win the sprints and, perhaps more importantly, the marathon. 

Why? Because our sector faces substantial and unique challenges: the rapid expansion of data centers and their impact on water sustainability, rising concerns about affordability generally and water affordability specifically for low-income customers and communities, and the heightened visibility of water issues such as PFAS contamination, land application of biosolids, and cybersecurity risks that are attracting greater scrutiny.

Despite these hurdles, NACWA stands at a pivotal moment to make water a national priority and drive meaningful progress for our utilities the communities they serve.

Now is the time to complain less (though we may have every right to complain about how we are perceived or treated relative to other infrastructure sectors!) and instead focus on telling the positive story of water—how our utility members transform communities every day. Let’s work together to reshape the water sector so it is strategically positioned for policymakers at all levels of government to better address the needs of clean water agencies and the communities they serve.