Should safe drinking water be a moonshot in 2020?

摘要

How can we make utility performance more consistently good? It is a question which will start to matter a lot more in the wake of the coronavi-rus crisis. Events such as this divide the strong performers from the weak. When that happens in private businesses, it usually leads to consolidation: successful companies either take over or drive out less successful companies. In the public utility sector there is generally little scope for takeovers, and utilities are very rarely allowed to fail. Instead, the weak just get weaker. George Hawkins, the former DC Water general manager turned executive director of Moonshot Missions, explains why this matters so much in America today (see pig). The small, failing utilities are also the ones responsible for providing safe drinking water to low-income communities. As in Flint, Michigan, a disproportionate number of the people in those communities are drawn from minority groups. If black lives matter, then we have to get water right for everyone, and not just those lucky enough to be served by a high-performance utility.