With the prospect of drought conditions as severe as the dust bowls of the 1930s this summer, and with ongoing water problems in Flint Michigan, Tampa, Florida, and so many other areas in the United States, it is imperative that clean freshwater transfer systems to replenish depleted aquifers, especially in the Midwest, be the first priority of the Biden Administration’s infrastructure plan. This, so that in the event of severe drought conditions, the effects would be greatly reduced. It is these water transfer systems, much like the pipeline in Alaska, that would ensure there is enough clean fresh water from areas that receive enough rain or snow runoff for drought-stricken regions in the United States. If we can build oil transfer systems, we sure can do it for clean, fresh water.

If we fail to deliver and take care of this nation’s freshwater problems, no amount of stimulus payments will be enough to overcome the horrific consequences of not providing enough clean freshwater for each and every area across America. What happened in Flint Michigan and recently in Tampa, Florida are typical examples of gross negligence, lack of responsibility, and outright incompetence. There really shouldn’t be a need for a forecast of coming catastrophes or an intensifying current crisis before these things escalate into full-blown monumental disasters. However, we do it all the time before we act. And, at that point, everything we respond to is always too little too late with our response.

Water, water everywhere, none to drink and none to spare. Just think of all the things we take for granted nowadays, like turning on the faucet or even flushing the toilet. Unfortunately, we are so sure that these things that we do every day will always be available. Just ask the millions still suffering from deadly hurricanes, tornadoes and the mistakes of man. When we take into consideration all the modern convictions we have today, we continue to overlook the most precious resource this planet has. Access to clean, reliable drinking water is consistently and truly taken for granted.

For more than six months of every year, the United States faces all kinds of natural threats. The droughts of past summers and violent wildfires, the tornadoes this spring, and the forecast for more hurricanes are constant reminders of just how fragile and vulnerable our infrastructure really is. With today’s reality, new and more frequent threats from weather-related cycles and now from our ingenious efforts to develop more sinister weapons of warfare keep this nation at the focal point where the impact of a single disaster would put the United States in jeopardy. That is until we address and implement much-needed measures that will prevent the Grim Reaper from destruction.

What everyone should know is that the water in our faucet, we all take for granted, every time we open the faucet, clean and fresh water will flow. But, in most of our history this was not always the case. And now, across the country, tap water is slowly and methodically being polluted and wasted. In most cities and towns in every state, what comes out of the faucets is not what we think it is. In other words, the nations’ drinking water, the availability of clean, safe water faces serious threats from sources less obvious than the natural disasters that continue to plague the United States.

One of the most troubling is our nation’s infrastructure. Many don’t even know that more than 15% of all public water is lost to leaks. Major pipeline breaks are estimated to occur at a rate of more than one per minute somewhere in the country. In Washington DC, major pipe breaks occur every day. That’s in our nation’s capital! What is so alarming is that some water pipes were built more than 150 years ago. The fly in the buttermilk is that repairing and upgrading the nation’s water supply lines to standards that will withstand major disasters and effectively remove the contaminants now infecting our water will cost more than $400 billion. If we wait until another hurricane like Katrina or Sandy hits, the cost will more than double. That’s not counting all the other costs that would arise from the other contingencies associated with contaminated water, such as cholera, dysentery, and a whole host of other life-threatening diseases that arise from infected contaminated water.

So far, our more benevolent “wizards” on Capital Hill have done nothing to address the serious nature of life’s most precious resource. In reality, the United States is financially depriving our water supply and has been doing so for years. With our budget, state leaders have put monetary concerns and restrictions ahead of the safety and health of the very people they are supposed to represent. Not surprising really because many of us don’t even think about water until a pipe bursts and our faucets run dry. The prevailing and continuing attitude is that any repair is cheap and that the continued refusal to pay the actual costs is only further exacerbating this ongoing crisis.

Today our water supply is rapidly becoming contaminated with compounds that did not exist until recently. Millions of people ingest more pharmaceuticals every day. The way our for-profit healthcare industry is, millions more will be enticed to consume even more pharmaceuticals in the months and years ahead. This may be a good time to rethink universal health care for all Americans in order to reduce reliance on pharmaceuticals and instead rely on preventative measures.

It is known that when we consume anything, be it food or drugs, our bodies excrete waste into sewage systems and believe it or not, many unused drugs are flushed down the toilet. Ultimately, this residue ends up in our water supply. In a recent study, evidence of more than 56 types of pharmaceuticals and more by-products was found in treated drinking water, including in metropolitan areas serving more than 40 million people. These drugs by design change the body’s chemistry and now pose substantial health risks to the entire population. A very real and present danger lies in this nation’s water supply.

It’s time to address this and implement improvements to our water supply systems to meet the necessary safety measures so that, in the event of another disaster, the people of the United States can be sure they have enough fresh and safe drinking water. We also need to install a cross-country water transfer system to transport water to areas that need it. An intercontinental waterway and a safe and reliable water supply system would restore the health of this nation and preserve our future.

With the advent of new technologies, it is quite urgent, especially after last hurricane season, which saw millions without power or water, our electrical grid really needs an immediate upgrade. Where our defense industry has developed more sinister weapons of destruction to invoke terror anywhere in the world, we now have the ability to disrupt electrical power to any target anywhere in the world. It is quite possible that others, more diabolical, could now use this same technology against the United States. Without light today is like being without water. Both are essential now for life as we know it.

In the age of lightning speed, the electric power of the Internet is essential because without it it is disastrous. What happened in the wake of all the past hurricanes has to be a wake-up call to immediately implement the energy solutions that are now beginning to fuel the third industrial revolution. Investing in infrastructure now secures our future.