Water is emerging as a defining factor in U.S. economic growth and national security—from where data centers and energy projects can scale to how communities absorb the rising costs of floods, droughts, and insurance risk.

In response, a new Aspen National Water Strategy has been released, laying out a plan to rethink how the country manages water. This episode is a conversation with the co-leads for developing the strategy, Martin Doyle of Duke University and Newsha Ajami of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Their central argument is a shift in framing: water is not just an environmental or local utility issue—it’s a core economic input and a strategic asset.

The conversation explores how that plays out today, from AI and energy demands tied to water availability to insurers effectively redrawing the map of risk across the country. It also gets into what’s holding the system back, including fragmented governance, outdated infrastructure models, and policies that don’t align with how water actually moves through watersheds.

The strategy outlines priorities including governing for outcomes instead of process, investing in rural landscapes that underpin national water supply, and expanding infrastructure to include natural systems, data, and people.

Doyle and Ajami also highlight the need to remove barriers to adopting solutions that already exist, and to rethink financing and business models so innovation can scale. It’s a clear-eyed look at how water is shaping the economy and risk landscape today—and what it will take to treat it as the national priority it has become.

00:00 – Introduction: A New National Water Strategy
00:45 – Pillar 1: Water as an Economic and National Security Asset
02:29 – Elevating Water: From Afterthought to Core Priority
04:13 – Pillar 2: Fixing Fragmented Water Governance
06:16 – Governing Outcomes, Not Process
07:01 – The Challenge of Disconnected Water Policy
08:07 – Pillar 3: Why Rural Water Matters to Everyone
10:05 – Rural Communities as Watershed Stewards
12:19 – Pillar 4: Adapting to Climate and Water Risk
13:19 – The Insurance Industry Is Redefining Risk
15:30 – Rethinking How We Rebuild After Disasters
19:02 – Pillar 5: Modernizing Water Infrastructure
21:33 – Expanding Infrastructure: Nature, Data, and People
23:36 – Workforce and Human Capital Challenges
24:32 – Pillar 6: Scaling Innovation in Water
25:00 – Beyond Technology: Policy and Finance Innovation
27:29 – The Real Barrier: Adoption of Solutions
28:21 – Big Picture: What Needs to Change System-Wide
30:26 – Rethinking Utility Consolidation (Virtual Models)
31:53 – The Challenge of Agriculture and Water Policy
33:41 – What Happens Next: Turning Strategy into Action
35:44 – Copy What Works: Scaling Proven Solutions
37:18 – Final Thoughts: Do We Need a National Water Leader?

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