Transcript Slide 1
A Systems Approach to Water Resources Robert Pirani Director Environmental Programs Regional Plan Association America 2050 National Leadership Meeting October 19, 2009 U.S. Library of Congress Washington, D.C. 1 A Systems Approach to Water Resources Water in Crises Treating Water as Water Toward A New National Agenda • Reframe Agency Decision Making • Provide Funding and Incentives 2 Population Pressures on Water Supply Lake Lanier, Atlanta Reservoir Lake Mead, Las Vegas Reservoir 3 Unmet Water Quality Goals NYC DEP 4 Unmet Water Quality Goals 5 Climate Change will Raise the Stakes Impact of Category 1- 4 Hurricane, Columbia University Flooding in Iowa, Jun 2008 6 A Financial Gap… EPA Gap Analysis No Revenue Growth Total Payment Gap (20 Years) (Average in Billions of Dollars) Clean Water Drinking Water Capital $122 $102 O&M $148 $161 Total $271 $263 Steven Albee, US EPA ASCE 7 and Institutional Silos Paedergat Basin CSO, NY Atlantic City and Ventnor, NJ 8 Treating Water as Water “ A crisis-driven approach will be insufficient to meet the growing challenges facing the nation’s water infrastructure…a new framework that looks ahead …towards a more sustainable model or approach to funding water and wastewater infrastructure, is needed” Aspen Institute. May 2009 9 Treating Water as Water Highlands Preservation Area, New Jersey Napa River Flood Protection Project California Storm water management in Portland 10 Toward a New National Water Agenda Can we reframe the decision-making process to establish a results oriented, outcome driven watershed approach that meets national goals and standards? Theodore Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot 1908 11 Reframe Agency Decision Making • Realign our water policies to ensure a watershed perspective • Coordinate federal agencies’ missions and programs • Break down barriers between traditional infrastructure, land use, and natural resource silos. • Target investments in 21st century priorities, including green infrastructure, efficiency, climate change, and integrated water and land use management 12 Provide Funding and Incentives Establish funding mechanisms, including a dedicated trust, to drive a series of policy reforms: • Promote watershed management that links to land use decisions. • Evaluate projects based on life-cycle costs • Encourage cross-sector collaboration and an integrated approach • Protect and restore green infrastructure • Pilot non-structural and decentralized technologies 13 Moving Forward Questions – Have we Framed the Issue Correctly? – What are the Key Opportunities? – How can the America 2050 Network Best Contribute? 14 www.America2050.org www.rpa.org 15