There are government officials and businesses that would disagree with the need for infrastructure improvement by the suggested 200-year lifespan of our current infrastructure and the costs required to take on such a project. Even if you are of this perspective, it is important to realize that the United States aging infrastructure is a problem now and will only continue to be a problem in the future. It is crucial to keep up with the needs of the people and the increasing pressure put on our water infrastructure. The need placed on the water infrastructure by the growing population could not have been predicted in the 1800’s and Congress needs to adapt our solution to the current system. It would be easy to argue that there are more pressing issues like national security, wealth inequality, or food security. I would agree with this but would like to instill optimism with a reminder that Congress has the ability to take on all of these issues and they should. The United States will face many challenges and we can overcome this, just as we have overcome countless challenges in our past.

Another way to combat the misuse of ethical types is transparency within the congressional process of adding a large-scale infrastructure stimulus package within the next budget. Transparency needs to also stretch through the scientific process of gathering information regarding the quality of municipal water and the aging infrastructure around it.  Another solution to the problem would be Citizen Action through writing Congress representatives, joining action groups, and participating in Citizen Science. It only takes one person, one voice to make a difference. A favorite analogy of mine is science fiction movies that involve time travel are afraid of changing a single detail for fear that will change everything, while there are people now who feel that one person can’t make a difference. One person, one voice is all it takes to make a difference. Jamie Oliver once said that if one person taught three people to cook a meal and if those three people, in turn, each taught three people to cook that same meal that it would take twenty-five replications to teach all of America to cook that meal.  This is the optimism that drives me to discuss issues with others that are important to me.  Through these actions by the citizens and Congress, our country would be able to adequately address our aging infrastructure regarding water transportation.

Water quality affects every citizen from the day they are born and throughout their lifetime. Water is the source of life and a most precious resource that deserves protection from those who abuse the resource and the ecosystem surrounding it. Water has an impact on health and in turn our quality of life and through an infrastructure spending bill, the Congress would be able to stimulate job growth and reduce poverty. Using the steps I outlined and following my own preferred utilitarian perspective, I believe there is a way to fix the United States aging infrastructure and Congress can do it in a way that benefits most, if not all, Americans. Access to water is a human right and is as important as life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
