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Panelists flag Midwest freshwater resources as strategic asset, call for multistate stewardship
Summary
An audience member noted the Midwest contains about 20% of the world's fresh water; panelists urged cross-jurisdictional collaboration (including Canada) and cited NSF-backed RENEW engine and Chicago-led initiatives as models for coordinated investment and research.
An audience member at the Columbus forum observed that the Midwest contains roughly 20% of the world's fresh water and asked how the region should steward that resource for future generations. Panelists said the scale of the resource requires multistate, and in some cases international, cooperation.
"I love that stat," Ted Veil said of the 20 percent figure, and he urged beginning broad conversations in rooms like the forum and involving cross-border partners such as Canada. Speakers noted existing NSF-led efforts such as the RENEW engine and Chicago-led research hubs as examples of coordinated, multi-state investment focused on water.
Panelists described water stewardship as a long-term set of policy and investment questions — including infrastructure, environmental protection and economic uses — and said building inclusive conversations now is an important first step.
