Access to clean, running water is the promise that unlocks the American Dream. Water is the foundation that allows us to build our lives, pursue our passions, contribute to our communities, and thrive.

Life Without Water

But for the more than two million Americans who live without a working tap or toilet, this promise remains unfulfilled. 

On the Navajo Nation in the Southwest, families drive for hours to haul barrels of water to meet their basic needs. In Alabama, parents warn their children not to play outside because their yards are flooded with sewage. Families living in Texas border towns worry because there is no running water to fight fires. In West Virginia, some drink from polluted mine shafts.

Last week I sat with Rosa Runyon, a client of ours who was born and raised in West Virginia. For decades Rosa relied on a water line her husband installed in an abandoned coal mine and ran 300 feet down the side of a mountain to their home. The water smelled and stained her clothes, but Rosa felt lucky to have running water when so many of her neighbors did not. The line would often freeze in winter, so Rosa’s husband would walk the icy slope with a blow torch unfreezing it. When he finally passed a few years ago, Rosa panicked, worrying that she wouldn’t be able to maintain the water line, but knowing she did not have enough money to move. Fortunately, DigDeep was able to connect Rosa and her neighbors to a public water system.

Without access to clean running water, life becomes a lot more complicated—and a lot more expensive. Adults and children spend hours each week hauling water from streams, wells, or grocery stores—hours taken away from work, studying, or playing. They have a higher risk of waterborne disease, diabetes, physical injury, and acute mental stress, and must also shoulder the health care bills that follow. 

The Water Access Gap

The water access gap opened decades ago, when government investment in water infrastructure bypassed certain communities, mainly communities of color. Today, race is the strongest predictor of whether you have a tap or toilet at home. Research from my nonprofit, DigDeep, and the US Water Alliance shows that Native American households are 19 times more likely to lack running water than white households; Black and Latino households are twice as likely. America’s water crisis affects entire communities in every state, and recent Census data show that the number of people impacted is growing, fueled by climate change and decades of underinvestment in infrastructure. 

When DigDeep published the first national economic impact study on the water gap in 2022, we were shocked to find that every year we leave that gap open, the U.S. economy loses $8.6 billion. Life without a tap or toilet costs a family $15,800 every year in additional health care costs, bottled water, lost time at work and school, and premature death. For many, that’s more than their annual income. 

When we close the water access gap for good, the most marginalized families will be the first to benefit. We’ve seen this first hand, in the lives of DigDeep’s 8000+ clients around the country. But our work to build water and wastewater systems in places like the Navajo Nation, Texas border colonias, and rural Appalachia has not only improved the lives of individuals like Rosa, it has transformed entire communities. 

When we installed piped water for Cochran colonia in 2022, the small neighborhood in El Paso County was home to just 23 families and several lots vacated by families who had moved away. Since water was turned on, the community has grown to 34 families, many of whom returned to their old land to begin building new homes.

Cochran is not an anomaly. Every dollar invested in expanding access to running water and flush toilets generates $4.65—a return of nearly 5 to 1. All told, closing the water access gap could create nearly $200 billion of economic value over the next 50 years.

New Progress to Solve the Hidden Water Crisis

After tireless advocacy, DigDeep and our partners have seen encouraging recent progress by the federal government on water access. Wins include nearly $6 billion for clean water in various infrastructure laws, draft legislation that would better measure the size and scope of the water access gap, and a joint EPA / USDA pilot program that brings wastewater services to rural communities which recently expanded to 150 more locations.

Legislative achievements like these only come from collective action led by impacted communities, something our partners working in the global WASH sector know well. For over 60 years, a robust international WASH sector made up of funders, development banks, local governments, academics, and activists in low- and middle-income countries has played a key role in improving water access for more than 2.6 billion people. 

Now a similar constellation of private, nonprofit, academic, utility, and philanthropic partners within the U.S. water space have come together as Vessel, a backbone organization for the U.S. WASH sector, where partners can share knowledge, coordinate work on the ground, and engage in more effective policy advocacy. In May 2024, Vessel hosted its first convening in Washington, D.C., welcoming more than 300 community champions, funders, implementers, and policymakers. The convening placed community voices front and center, with conversations focused on tangible solutions for impacted families. 

Get Involved to Solve the Water Crisis

The movement to close the US water gap is growing and it’s an exciting time to get involved!

Donors of all sizes can play an important role in closing the U.S. water gap, not only by making financial contributions to the nonprofits working to address this challenge but also by helping to raise awareness that this hidden water crisis is taking place in communities across all 50 states. More specifically, grassroots donors can:

  • Support nonprofits that work directly with impacted communities, coming up with solutions specifically for that community’s unique challenges and circumstances.
  • Help increase the visibility of nonprofits’ work on this issue by sharing on social media and with your family and friends.

Larger philanthropic institutions can also help by:

  • Supporting nonprofits that work directly with impacted communities. All funding should be informed by—and designed to meet—the real needs of impacted communities, which includes bringing impacted individuals directly into conversations around solution-building. Philanthropies should consult with communities facing water access challenges through dedicated outreach, or consultations with community groups and nonprofits.
  • Invest in new research on the size and scope of the water access gap. Better data on the water access gap can lead to more targeted policy. Centralized data would also support creation of an early warning system that identifies communities most at risk of falling into the water access gap so that crises can be prevented. All data collection efforts should be accompanied by outreach to vulnerable communities to assist them in leveraging those data for their own advocacy.
  • Join the U.S. WASH sector. By leveraging the combined resources of private, nonprofit, academic, utility, and philanthropic partners, this emerging sector is working to secure funding, align policy advocacy, and hold governments accountable to impacted communities. Within this community of practice, experiences—successes and failures—are shared through regular, in-person meetings. Philanthropy has a big role to play here. 

Access to running water transforms communities. When taps turn on, so do opportunities. Children have more time to play, learn, and grow. Parents have more time for work and family. Communities have the chance to grow and thrive. 

There is no reason more than 2 million people should struggle without running water in the wealthiest democracy on earth. 

Together, we can close the water access gap in our lifetime. By doing so, we will fulfill the promise at the heart of the American Dream: the ability to be who you are in the place that you love.