Obama vs. McCain: Progressive Voter Guide to Water Issues

Download this Voter Guide as a .PDF

Water is our most important resource and is necessary to sustain life on this planet. Currently we face a water crisis that encompasses water quantity, quality and infrastructure. More and more states are finding they are running short on drinking water, with an estimated 36 states facing scarcity in the next 10 years. This shortfall has been coupled by a 66 percent drop in federal funding in the last 15 years to help states protect their water. As a result, private companies are swooping in to buy public water systems, threatening the democratic control of water and causing rates to increase and services to diminish.

Despite these vast problems, water issues have largely been absent from the public debate and have barely been mentioned by either the Obama or the McCain campaigns. While their energy policies are hotly debated, little is known about where the candidates stand on protecting clean water and what they will do to face a water crisis in the United States and abroad.

We've checked their voting records, and the Obama campaign responded to our inquiries on his water policies. But there are still significant gaps in what the public needs to know about how these candidates are planning to help protect our most important resource. Below is a primer to get your feet wet, as we continue to press both the Obama and McCain camps for more answers.

1. SCARCITY

Thirty-six U.S. states are facing water stress and scarcity in the coming decade, with Western states such as California, New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada already experiencing water stress. Last year, the southeast, including the Atlanta area, nearly ran out of drinking water completely.

• Solution: We need to cut down on our consumption of water and employ conservation practices in our homes as well as in industry and agriculture. We need public education about conservation practices, incentives for reducing consumption and increasing efficiency, and new regulations for agriculture and industry. We also need regulations to protect against the pollution and overpumping of groundwater.

 

 

• Obama's position: Obama says he believes we need to take preparatory measures to ensure our water supplies are used efficiently and equitably. He supports the development of a national water conservation strategy, in coordination with states and municipalities. He plans to create policies to encourage communities to develop voluntary water banks, wastewater treatment and other market-based measures. He will also work to improve technology for water conservation and efficiency, and remove institutional barriers to increase cooperation and collaboration among federal, state and private organizations. Obama wants to help farmers deploy water conservation measures, including irrigation techniques that save energy and water and small reservoirs that farmers can use to capture rainfall.

 

 

• McCain's position: While in Congress, McCain cast 10 votes against clean water, which also were against drinking water protection and enforcement, controlling microbes in water, and money for water pollution control.

 

 

• Learn more: OAEC's WATER Institute, Pacific Institute, Global Water Policy Project

2. POLLUTION

Our waterways are being polluted by industrial, agricultural and domestic runoff, as well as sewage overflows and untreated waste.

• Solution: Support community right-to-know legislation that warns people when sewage is dumped into waterways. Begin work with governments, developers and homeowners to implement new storm water management techniques, natural water treatment systems, and protection of wetlands to reduce pollutants and protect watersheds.
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• Next page »
View as a single page