A National Water Policy Event

On July 28, 2009, the CSIS Global Water Futures Project joined Jim Thebaut of the Chronicles Group and numerous congressional, non-profit, public, and private sector partners to host a major water policy event in the Capitol Visitor Center.

The need for a comprehensive and integrated national water policy was the core theme of the event.  Representatives John Linder (R-GA), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Jim Costa (D-CA), and Edward Markey (D-MA) commenced by highlighting key challenges in our nation’s water management, the need to examine past attempts at improving national water policy, and parallels to the water crises throughout the world. The Mayor of Atlanta, Shirley Franklin , spoke about the city’s ongoing $4 billion overhaul of its water and sewer system, while Steve Stockton, Mike Connor, and Pete Silva represented various water-related agencies in the Executive Branch.

The several hundred attendees then turned their attention to Jim Thebaut, who introduced his film: The American Southwest: Are We Running Dry ? It was followed by a panel of experts in America’s water management, which was moderated by Tim Brick of the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.  The panel emphasized several key points: the centrality of governance, the need to reevaluate our ethic of water conservation, the unequal burden of water scarcity that Native Americans bear, and the success of municipal-wide conservation efforts.

For a comprehensive summary of the event, please see Michael Campana’s Aquadoc blog.