HEALTH EQUITY
6. Even though the water source and surrounding areas of small towns are some of the best, basic (yet essential) activities like water asset inventorying, source water protection and holistic long-term planning often do not happen due to lack of funding and staff. Photo: Good Free Photos 6
economically prosperous areas. The players and institutions involved in municipal water infrastructure decisions operate under the same forces of power and privilege that rule other sectors of society. Not surprisingly, an inefficient and inequitable system underpinning our most critical public services makes us all less effective and continually puts nature at a disadvantage. Yet the way we define our water management and infrastructure problems is a prime determinant of what we build, how, and who funds it. Now is the time to re-define our water infrastructure and management needs with nature and equity at its heart.
A Geography of Opportunity The resources already exist to upend the status quo. There are community leaders in towns of all sizes who are eager to do things differently. There are private investors and funders who are interested in nature-based solutions to water management challenges, but they cannot always find sufficient “ripe” projects to fund. And there are a plethora of non-profits competing for limited grant dollars to implement nature-based solutions, which need to move beyond case studies to be widely replicated. We need to merge these interests better so
that they can reach their full potential. Here are three essential changes we can start today (at least in the Pacific Northwest of the USA): Address drinking water source
1. conservation with the same rigor
that we consider waste- and stormwater management, thus creating a “one water” management system. This may require regulatory changes, but should at least include scientificallydefensible environmental vulnerability assessments for every municipality – large and small. This identifies priorities for restoration and protection and levels the playing field so
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