The US water sector is facing mounting pressure from ageing infrastructure, rising affordability concerns, extreme weather events and growing demand from industries such as data centres. According to the latest 2026 Value of Water Index, public concern over water reliability, investment and long-term resilience is continuing to grow across the United States.
In this interview, Scott Berry, Senior Advisor on Policy and External Affairs at the US Water Alliance, discusses the key findings from this year’s research, including increasing public anxiety around water costs, bipartisan support for infrastructure investment and the growing need for resilient water systems capable of supporting future economic growth.
Scott Berry, Senior Advisor on Policy and External Affairs at the US Water Alliance
Overall, voters rank reliable water access as a top national priority, on par with reducing inflation and addressing the high cost of living. There’s also strong bipartisan support for continued investment in water infrastructure, along with broad public support for the policymakers championing water issues. At the same time, growing challenges like extreme weather and the rise of data centers are raising new concerns among voters about water systems, especially as the cost of service continues to climb.
How have public attitudes shifted compared to previous years?
The Value of Water Campaign has conducted this nationwide polling since 2016 to track and test opinions on water infrastructure, services, and funding.
While voters have consistently ranked water as a top issue, the level of concern around the cost of water service has increased. 61 percent of respondents now rate the cost of water service as very or extremely important, up from 48 percent last year. This connects to broader economic pressures that Americans are experiencing.
The polling also continues to show a gap between how much voters value safe, reliable water and how confident they are in the water coming out of their taps. While reliability remains a top priority, 69 percent of voters are concerned about the drinking water in their community, a figure that has steadily increased in the last five years.
Affordability & Public Perception
The report shows rising concern around the cost of water services — what is driving this trend?
There are two factors driving rising concern around the cost of water services.
First, there’s the broader economic backdrop. People are more focused on lowering their overall expenses right now, and that includes their water bills. Cost of living and inflation are part of everyday conversations, so it’s natural that voters are paying closer attention to how much they’re spending on water.
Second, there’s a long-term affordability trend in our data. Most people say their water service is affordable, which is important. But the share who say their water service is unaffordable has been steadily rising. This year, 26 percent of respondents said their water service is unaffordable, which is about double what we saw when we first started asking this question 10 years ago.
While most households say they can afford their water bills, more people are starting to feel the pressure, and that’s been building overtime.
How should utilities and policymakers respond to affordability pressures?
Affordability is a complex challenge in the water sector, and there isn’t a single solution. The reality is our water infrastructure, affordability, and access challenges didn’t appear overnight, and our solutions have to account for that.
It’s tempting to say that we should stop raising water rates, but the cost of operating and maintaining water systems is rising faster than inflation. At the same time, utilities are dealing with decades of underinvestment, a growing backlog of needed repairs and upgrades, and facing regulatory hurdles and enforcement actions that carry real consequences if water systems fail or fall short.
Addressing affordability will require both sustained, increased investment and targeted support for those who are struggling. Policymakers can increase investment and prioritize water infrastructure in their funding decisions. There’s also a need for direct support for households who are struggling to make ends meet and pay their water bills. During the pandemic, there was a temporary water bill assistance program to help Americans pay for their water bills, which was a huge public health win and showed how impactful this kind of support can be.
Infrastructure & Investment
The data indicates strong bipartisan support for water infrastructure funding — how significant is this in the current policy landscape?
Bipartisan support for water infrastructure is especially significant in today’s policy environment and is reflective of the fact that we all need and depend on water.
What stands out in the data is not just the overall level of support, but how consistent it is across the board. When informed about the possibility of federal funding cuts to water infrastructure projects, 80 percent of voters responded that they were in favor of continued funding; that level of support holds across a wide range of demographics including gender, age, race, geography and political affiliation. The data sends a clear signal that people across the country want to see continued investment in water infrastructure.
What are the main barriers to turning public support into tangible investment?
The biggest barrier is cost. The need for water infrastructure investment is now measured in the trillions, and the gap between what we’re spending and what we need to spend continues to grow. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act marked a historic step forward, but it’s only a downpayment on what’s needed. Water infrastructure tends to become a priority when something goes wrong, but we can’t proceed that way. The cost of inaction is staggering. We know from the Value of Water Campaign’s report, The Economic Benefits of Investing in Water Infrastructure, that a single day without water nationwide would bring the US economy to a standstill, costing the economy over $120 billion in lost output, shaving $69 billion of GDP, and stalling more than half a million jobs. Every dollar spent today prevents costly failures tomorrow and builds a stronger, more resilient economy.
Meeting this challenge will require a whole of society approach bringing together federal and local policy and funding with philanthropic investment.
Emerging Pressures
How are extreme weather events influencing water infrastructure priorities?
Extreme weather is clearly shifting priorities for water infrastructure. There’s a growing focus on resilience, or the ability of systems to withstand and recover from these events. The impacts of extreme weather events also vary by region. In the West, it’s largely drought and wildfire. In other areas, like the Great Lakes, it’s more about storms, flooding, and freezes. But across the board, these pressures are pushing the need for water systems to be adaptable.
That’s changing how decisions get made. With limited resources and a large infrastructure backlog, policymakers are putting more emphasis on projects that improve resilience and reliability. In many cases, that means prioritizing investments that can serve multiple goals, whether it’s strengthening water systems, supporting economic development, or improving public health.
You also see it in how communities weigh different needs within the water sector, like balancing basic or essential upgrades to aging infrastructure with more significant investments that help systems handle more extreme conditions, including flood events that are becoming more frequent.
The report highlights concern around data centres — how serious is this issue for water systems?
It’s clear from the data that this is a real concern for people. Voters are paying attention to the impact data centers can have on water supply, water quality, and the cost of service, and they expect states to plan for it.
From a water systems perspective, data centers are a significant factor because they are large water users. Like any major industrial user, data centers place additional demands on local systems, both in terms of supply and treatment. Data centers are also tied to broader cost pressures, especially when it comes to energy. They consume large amounts of power, and because water treatment and delivery are also energy-intensive, energy ends up being a major driver of overall operating costs.
This is especially relevant in areas where water supplies are already under stress, but it’s not limited to those regions. It’s something utilities and policymakers need to account for as they plan for growth. More broadly, it reinforces a bigger point. Whether it’s data centers, manufacturing, or other forms of economic development, all of it depends on having a reliable, well-functioning water system in place.
Looking Ahead
What policy or funding actions are most urgently needed in the next few years?
The most immediate priority is ensuring continued, stable federal investment in water infrastructure. Water relies on annual appropriations rather than a dedicated funding source, so consistency is important for states and communities as they plan and deliver projects.
A key near-term focus is the State Revolving Funds, the primary federal programs supporting water infrastructure. They were reauthorized as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and that authorization is set to expire at the end of this fiscal year. Reauthorizing those programs will help ensure funding can continue and provide greater certainty moving forward. Overall, maintaining consistent investment and ensuring these foundational programs remain in place will be critical in the years ahead.
What lessons from the US should the global water sector be paying attention to?
In the United States, most people still trust their water systems and believe the water coming into their homes is safe. But what we’ve seen over time is a gradual erosion in that confidence. The share of people who say they have a high level of trust has been declining, while the number of people with concerns has been inching up year after year.
That’s an important signal for the domestic and international water sector. It suggests there’s an opportunity to address that trend now, while overall trust is still relatively strong, rather than waiting until confidence declines further. Rebuilding and maintaining that trust takes time and sustained effort.
At the same time, the US can also learn from other countries. In many parts of the world, there’s more experience with extending water and sanitation services to communities that don’t have access. Here in the US, we still have millions of people without reliable access to basic water infrastructure, and our systems have largely been built around centralized models.
There’s an opportunity to look more closely at how other countries are approaching service delivery, especially in reaching underserved communities, and apply some of those lessons here. So it’s a mix of maintaining public confidence at home while also learning from global approaches to expand water access and improve service.
Scott Berry is Senior Advisor on Policy and External Affairs at the US Water Alliance, a national non-profit organisation focused on advancing sustainable water policy and infrastructure across the United States. He leads the organisation’s policy engagement and has previously served as Director of the Utility Infrastructure Division, Environment, and Trade at the Associated General Contractors of America. Berry has also held leadership roles with the Water Infrastructure Network, Sustainable Water Infrastructure Coalition, Common Ground Alliance and Waters Advocacy Coalition.
