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Op-Ed: Water Must be Part of Our COVID Recovery

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Pandemic creates opportunity for practical, achievable upgrades to our water systems.

The nation’s rebound from the COVID-19 crisis must include a sincere investment in fixing our failure to provide clean and affordable water to every American, Elizabeth Cisar, The Joyce Foundation’s senior environment officer, and Radhika Fox, chief executive officer of the U.S. Water Alliance, argue in a May op-ed column.

Cisar and Fox explain how — incredibly — too many Americans lack basic running water in urban, rural and even coastal communities. Yet the crisis taught us that protecting public health means everyone washing their hands frequently.

The authors call for pursuing four basic yet overlooked principles to fix the problem: Assuring water is reliable and affordable. Closing gaps in access. Strengthening water utilities. And investing in water infrastructure.

This op-ed appeared in Crain’s business publications in three Great Lakes cities Chicago, Cleveland and Detroit – all of which face serious water issues despite sitting beside the largest freshwater resource in the world.

About The Joyce Foundation

Joyce is a nonpartisan, private foundation that invests in evidence-informed public policies and strategies to advance racial equity and economic mobility for the next generation in the Great Lakes region.

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