This fall, I attended the International Water Association Congress alongside thousands of water utility employees, researchers, and tech providers. For someone who studies water governance, it was absolute water-nerd heaven. At the congress, I met people working on complex technical issues (e.g., membrane filtration systems), and these interactions sparked a bit of imposter syndrome. Engineers design and optimize water systems, and hydrologists measure and model flows, so what role do urban planners play in the water sector? Then, one key theme kept coming up across different congress discussions: solving the global water crisis is no longer purely a technical question. This gives me hope (and some big questions) about how planning can help promote water security.

To clarify, we know more than ever about what water is doing, yet technical mistakes still happen. Saturday Night Live UK’s most recent episode featured a rap by Ayoade Bamgboye about her character’s inexplicably high Thames Water bill, likely due to a meter issue.

For this blog, I’ll define the global water crisis as a culmination of water-related challenges facing society (e.g., scarcity, flooding, drought), most of which are interconnected and worsened by extractivist practices. According to the Stockholm Resilience Centre, the planetary boundary for freshwater change has already been crossed, meaning we are using global freshwater unsustainably. In simple terms, over 2 billion people lack access to safe drinking water, and environmental disasters that threaten safe water supplies will worsen.

Now back to planning…if the water crisis is not (exclusively) a technical challenge, then what is it? Governance/decision-making issues and difficulty financing improvements were the top issues congress attendees mentioned. Congress sessions also presented seemingly contradictory solutions. Some sessions encouraged us to slow down, think about our vision for water and how to live in harmony with nature. I helped facilitate one conversation where participants adopted roles to envision water futures (one participant even elected to be a wild salmon). These were some of the most inspiring and aspirational ideas I’ve heard about water in ages; one group was brought to tears as they reflected on the challenges they’d seen from flooding and how their profession had drifted from its intent. Some sessions called for urgent action and leveraging new financial tools to fund important projects as quickly as possible. These sessions touted new models, strategic financial planning, and clear action steps to address water issues across scales. The challenge, then, is determining an approach that balances both strategies as we transition to a more sustainable, regenerative future.

Perhaps to support my own job security, here is my case for strategic planning to drive our water future, and some areas where I think planners with our expertise in community engagement, strategy, and institutional frameworks are uniquely qualified to improve water governance.

1. Setting a shared vision

Water is part of almost every aspect of our lives. It has deep cultural value, economic value, and an indispensable role in human and environmental health. With so many uses and a limited supply, communities must decide which water values to prioritize, whether household use, agriculture, industry, or other needs. In Texas, we may see this as communities deciding whether to push back against or welcome data centers. Along the Klamath River, communities in Oregon and California fought to prioritize Indigenous livelihoods and salmon runs by removing four large dams. Their decision also brought water-quality and financial benefits! Communities can also prioritize which methods to adopt to conserve and reuse their supply. These decisions reflect different priorities and local contexts. Planning processes can articulate this vision and steps to best protect the public interest. With so many considerations for prioritization, inclusion and alignment are key, which brings us to…

2. Meaningful Community Engagement

Water governance, if done poorly, will worsen inequities. This could look like lower service levels in predominantly BIPOC communities, decisions on where effluents are discharged without consulting with affected residents, and more. Setting a shared vision should involve community input, leadership, and deep participation in the process of governing water. Planners can lead outreach and focus groups and develop structures for ongoing citizen engagement. I also think engagement can be viewed more broadly; it could include youth education and opportunities to volunteer and support local water systems. If done well, engagement can advance equity in water decisions… however, to do this today we need…

3. Responsible (and hopefully equitable) financing

This is an environmental planning blog first and a critique of capitalism second, but making water management decisions based on profit alone can lead to the privatization of municipal supplies and, pessimistically, a sort of dystopian future like the one pictured in Parable of the Sower, where wealth determines water security. Existing funding mechanisms will perpetuate inequity unless we use them very, very carefully, and even then, they still won’t be perfect. But the reality is that the United States (and many other countries) has very old, very very expensive water infrastructure that needs to be replaced. Planners can offer expertise on potential taxes or revenue sources, consider their equity implications, and then return to the shared community vision when making difficult financing decisions. Navigating financing options and clearly communicating to the public what, for example, a revenue bond means to them is critical to usher in our next generation of infrastructure.

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Through these conversations, I’m consistently brought back to the tension between urgent action and careful, inclusive planning. The best option is continuous, embedded planning, where people are well informed about their water supply, understand the need for water conservation, have an affordable, consistent monthly bill, and know the name of their local utility technician and city planner. In this scenario, water planning and governance are already part of existing in a community, and residents are empowered to participate in decisions.

However, reaching this point will take time and require changes to a global system that prioritizes optimization over people, and the next drought or flood won’t wait for this to happen. To begin, I think working on strong local plans/visions for water management is a critical first step. Planners are uniquely suited to connect communities, bridge disciplinary gaps, and build plans that orient decision-making and resource decisions to address local, place-based concerns. Through the planning process, we can march towards a more ambitious vision for a sustainable water future.

Until then,

Vickie