One Water is best understood by tracing its story—a story that began in the early twenty-first century when forward-thinking water professionals sought new solutions to increasingly complex water challenges. These professionals recognized that modern communities were vastly different from the ones the nation’s water systems were originally built upon over 100 years ago. Population centers had swelled and shifted, economic changes were putting new strains on water systems, and weather pattern shifts were increasingly burdening aging and ill-equipped water systems across the country struggling with intensifying floods, droughts, wildfires, and other extreme weather.
The story we trace reveals that One Water is, at inception, a mindset. The founding leaders thought differently, engaged with a broader range of people and perspectives, and looked beyond the existing regulatory, financial, and governance structures that forced water into individual drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater silos. These leaders embraced opportunities to connect water management needs for better outcomes, seeing water not just as a resource to manage for regulatory compliance but rather as a means to address broader community needs.
Today, we call this way of thinking a One Water mindset and the solutions it produces One Water approaches. The One Water mindset brings new approaches to life every year. These approaches consistently deliver greater social, environmental, and economic benefits than traditional approaches—and often at lower costs. Further, these approaches have common characteristics and continue to develop and evolve as more people apply them to new challenges and contexts.
One Water is growing. The founding leaders from across the water sector created a dedicated home for One Water by starting the US Water Alliance in 2008. Today, thousands of professionals from a broad array of backgrounds and organizations are working to develop and implement One Water approaches in communities across the country.
So, where is One Water leading us?
One Water’s driving vision is a sustainable water future for all. In response to the complex challenges that spurred its creation, One Water calls for holistic thinking—attending to the interconnected needs of people and the planet over time. While One Water remains grounded in core goals like universal access to safe and affordable water, its broader vision is not a fixed endpoint but rather a living pursuit shaped by changing conditions and needs.
Our ever-evolving water landscape requires the sector to be adaptable. Whether as a mindset, resulting approaches, or driving vision, One Water offers the strongest framework for navigating a rapidly shifting social, economic, and environmental landscape. It’s essential to understand how to rise to this imperative and make One Water the prevailing way we view, value, and manage water nationwide.
A One Water Mindset
- Values water at every state and in every form
- Focuses on achieving multiple benefits
- Approaches decisions with a systems mindset
- Uses watershed-scale thinking and action
- Centers inclusion and partnerships
- Accounts for climate action urgency and opportunities.
Examples of One Water Approaches
- Onsite water treatment, reuse, and recharge to diversify and stretch water supplies
- Green infrastructure to manage stormwater while enhancing community and health benefits
- Regional economic and environmental planning coordinated with capital planning across various agencies and departments
- Cross-sector partnerships, such as those between agricultural producers and municipalities to protect water sources and offset risks to producers
- Sustainability and innovation through solutions like recovering resources from wastewater
- Community engagement across interests (including those most impacted) throughout planning and implementation
- Community capacity building on water data, education, and solution development
- Creative financing tools such as incentives, credit trading, and impact bonds to attract partners and capital or incentivize performance.
Outcomes
- Thriving communities
- Reliable and resilient water management
- Sustainable and competitive industries and businesses
- Sustainable agricultural systems
- Social, economic, and environmental justice
- Healthy watersheds
- A livable planet.
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To learn more about One Water management strategies, explore the One Water Leadership Guides, designed to help water leaders and practitioners enhance their effectiveness and solve complex challenges.
