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ACS Position Statement:

Water is essential to wildlife, the environment, and to residential, agricultural, and industrial activities. Shifts in population density and climate have exacerbated the inequitable distribution of water throughout the United States, and when coupled with the additional pressures of agricultural and industrial needs, water shortages become more prevalent. In the U.S., thermoelectric power generation uses 45% of all withdrawn water, agriculture uses 37%, and the remaining 18% is used for residential and industrial applications. Water usually undergoes some form of pre-treatment before residential or industrial use. While current water treatment technologies can remove many pollutants, salts, and pathogens from water and wastewater, new treatment technologies and conservation measures will be needed to meet the growing demand for dwindling supplies of water caused by environmental contamination, drought, climate-driven changes to regional water distribution patterns, and ground-water removal at unsustainable rates. �

Access to clean and safe drinking water �

In 2023, the Biden-Harris Administration announced $5.8 billion in funding for clean drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, with a substantial portion aimed at addressing issues like lead pipe replacement and removal of contaminants from water, such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been using these funds to support various projects aimed at ensuring clean drinking water. This includes $3.2 billion through the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund and $1 billion for rural water projects. Additionally, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has allocated $15 billion specifically for the replacement of lead pipes across the nation. �

The public water infrastructure is not uniformly robust across the United States, with some cities and states experiencing critical failures in supplying safe drinking water. The EPA’s seventh national assessment of drinking water infrastructure needs (in 2023) shows that $625 billion is needed to maintain and upgrade this infrastructure through 2040 (a 32% increase over the sixth national assessment (in 2018). Completing this work is a critical requirement for addressing inequities in accessing safe drinking water. Changes in administration or shifts in congressional priorities could reduce allocations for critical water projects, leaving vulnerable communities at risk of unsafe drinking water.  �

Expanding water resources �

Increasing pressures on water resources and climatic conditions around the country have led to water scarcity.� Given the scale of the water scarcity challenge, the introduction of unconventional water resources (UWRs) driven by innovative technology plays in important role in guaranteeing a sustainable supply of water and ensuring its affordability to consumers, businesses and government alike. UWRs are supplementary water sources that require new technologies for utilization. Some examples of UWRs include desalinated seawater and brackish water, municipal wastewater, agricultural drainage water, fog and rainwater harvesting, and deep groundwater. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law encourages investments in environmental projects to increase water availability including desalination and water reuse. Recently, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and Department of the Interior have begun making larger investments in desalination, but the overall percentage of U.S. government spending remains lower than it has been historically. This low level of support has led to stagnation in the development of innovative technologies critical to a future in which more brackish water and seawater may need to be desalinated; more wastewater recycled for irrigation, industrial uses, and drinking water; and more water collected from other unconventional sources. �

Water usage in energy production and agriculture �

The intertwining of water and energy is also extremely important. As water is needed to generate energy, so is energy needed to purify and distribute water. The DOE supports research and development in renewable energy technologies that are less water-intensive, such as solar and wind power. These efforts aim to reduce the strain on water resources while promoting sustainable energy production. A significant portion of electricity, between 4 and 13%, is used for water purification and distribution. Thus, developing more energy-efficient water purification technologies is vital for attaining our energy efficiency objectives.  �

The high percentage of water withdrawn for agricultural use, particularly irrigation, and the energy required for withdrawal led the DOE and USDA to create a memorandum of understanding highlighting multiple priorities. Priorities as they relate to water include minimizing freshwater withdrawal and consumption, increasing water use efficiency, and utilizing nontraditional water sources. The memorandum of understanding call for R&D in the areas of energy-efficient and cost-competitive desalination technologies from non-freshwater sources, modernizing irrigation water infrastructure, and water resource recovery from wastewater from municipalities, industry, agriculture, energy production, and resource extraction. The Water-Energy Nexus provides a basis for further USDA-DOE collaboration; such as, the impact of climate change on water availability and leveraging water availability as part of crop selection criteria. �

Climate change on water systems� �

The warming climate is shifting water-distribution patterns on regional and continental scales. Warmer air can hold more water resulting in increasing intensity of rainfall events, which stress sewer and water treatment systems. Hotter temperatures increase evaporation rates, exacerbating drought conditions.� Climate-driven changes to the availability of water will continue to have an impact on energy production, agriculture, industry, infrastructure, human health, and ecosystems. Hence, it will be important to enhance water management practices, enabling communities to make informed decisions that can enhance climate resilience, promote ecosystem health, and decrease the risk of water-related disasters. �

To address these issues of water availability and treatment, the American Chemical Öйú365betÖÐÎĹÙÍø recommends that the United States: Â�

• Provide consistent and equitable access to clean and safe drinking water by supporting the maintenance, upgrades, or construction of public water infrastructure resulting in minimal environmental risk. Â�
• Encourage innovations within facilities that treat water (e.g. industrial plants, municipal wastewater treatment, etc.) Â�
  • to reduce or eliminate the amount of water used in their processes, Â�
  • to create a closed water cycle by recycling and reusing as much water on site as possible, Â�
  • to develop processes to reduce or eliminate the discharge of toxic substances into ground and surface waters, including municipal/regional water supplies, and Â�
  • to maximize the recovery of valuable components from wastewater streams that would otherwise be reintroduced into the environment. Â�
• Support research that expands water resources to include nonconventional water sources, such as recycled water, brackish water, seawater, and produced water/brines. Â�
• Encourage innovations to decrease demands for water in energy production. Â�
• Support technologies, management practices and infrastructure in the agricultural sector that reduce water use, increase water recycling, and minimize negative environmental impacts. Â�
• Increase research and planning for addressing consequences of climate change on water systems.