In a recent Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article, council member Manny Teodoro addresses the critical importance of safeguarding Wisconsin’s drinking water. He emphasizes that, despite the state’s abundant water resources, proactive measures are essential to maintain water quality and public trust. Teodoro advocates for modernizing infrastructure, enhancing regulatory frameworks, and fostering community engagement to ensure safe and reliable drinking water for all residents.

Drinking water has earned a “C-” on the 2025 American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, which is the same score it received in 2021. ASCE released the report card grading America’s infrastructure on March 25, 2025, where the country received an overall grade of “C,” its highest ever score. The ASCE Report Card highlighted the need for funding and building more resilient infrastructure. According to ASCE, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) determined that the nation’s water infrastructure needs stand at $625 billion over 20 years, exceeding EPA’s 2018 assessment by more than $150 billion.

This desert city of El Paso, Texas, gets less than nine inches of rain a year and experienced the two hottest years in its recorded history in 2023 and 2024. But El Paso Water started planning decades ago for this hotter, drier climate. Last week the utility broke ground on its latest project to secure water for the city of 700,000: an advanced water purification facility that will deliver 10 million gallons per day of purified water from the city’s wastewater stream directly into its drinking water supply.

During the recent winter months, many Delawareans have seen a sharp increase in their energy bills - increases large enough to prompt Gov. Matt Meyer and lawmakers to seek ways to help ease the burden those bills are creating. But more sticker shock could be on the way, this time from your water bill as water utilities seek to recover some of the costs of upgrades needed to filter the so-called 'forever chemicals' known as PFAS out of drinking water.

Arizona's water systems, especially small and Tribal systems, are facing mounting financial pressures as they strive to maintain affordable rates for residents while ensuring they have enough revenue to cover costs, fund infrastructure improvements and meet regulatory requirements. The report Tap Water Affordability in Arizona, recently released by the Kyl Center for Water Policy and supported by the Arizona Water Innovation Initiative, explores the delicate balance between raising water rates to ensure that residents have service stability while also keeping water affordable.