Water Technology Executive Jim Lauria has made an impassioned plea in An Open Letter to President-Elect Trump On Water.
In comments on the article Peter Styles, retired consultant at Knowledge Sharing, refers to one of the key problems with the water sector in the US: "the enormous number of small water companies which cannot benefit from economies of scale." Progress in the UK water sector over the last 25 years has been driven by privatisation, consolidation and a regulator that has required improvements to be made against some quite specific dimensions of water company performance.
Comments on Jim Lauria's article are supportive, though there is a noticeable streak of scepticism about the President-Elect and politicians in general.
Electoral cycles aren't well suited to addressing long-term challenges like climate change or the increasing inadequacy of essential infrastructure. Unless of course there is another Flint. As British Prime Minister Harold Macmillan is reputed to have observed, when asked by a journalist what was most likely to blow governments off course: "Events, my dear boy, events." Trump and his team would do well to ensure that it isn't water-related events that throw them off course.
Short of events, the President Elect's policies include support for investments in infrastructure (including water), the creation of infrastructure related jobs, and specifically:
"Make clean water a high priority. Develop a long-term water infrastructure plan with city, state and federal leaders to upgrade aging water systems. Triple funding for state revolving loan fund programs to help states and local governments upgrade critical drinking water and wastewater infrastructure."
Gal Joss, Manager Water Oil & Gas at Israel Export Institute, has spotted the potential intersection between Trump's desire to change the script with Israel by promoting http://www.israeliwaterinnovation.com/
We should stay positive and try to see how increased investment in the water industry can be aligned with the President Elect's emerging agenda. i2O is planning its first US pilot projects for its smart network solutions for clean water distribution during 2017. We remain optimistic.