Water insecurity tradeoffs: U.S. drinking water systems during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Public health, economic, and social disruptions caused by the pandemic extended to essential public services, including water supply. This paper examines how the pandemic caused a water security crisis for many communities, and in so doing, our analysis contributes to current debates on water system resilience and continued challenges of water affordability in the United States. Water utilities faced major shifts in industrial and domestic water demand, financial burdens of increased non-payments, and operational challenges due to a reduced workforce and supply chain bottlenecks. Areas of concern include customer protection, financial security, public communication, new technology adoption, and trust. Evidence indicates that the pandemic water crisis spurred institutional and technological innovation to increase resilience for the next shock while overall financial challenges in the post-pandemic years remain. The pandemic water crisis also revealed a stark tradeoff between household water security and water utility security, indicating that without systemic changes to policy and practice related to water affordability, the most vulnerable in the United States will continue to suffer in future crises.