Importance of Water to the United States Economy

View the videos of roundtable panels of featured speakers from the symposium held on December 4.

 Water is vital to a productive and growing economy in the United States, directly and indirectly affecting the production of goods and services in many sectors. Current economic literature provides some insights into the importance of water to various sectors, including agriculture, tourism, fishing, manufacturing, and energy production, but this information is dispersed and, in many cases, incomplete.

EPA is conducting a study on the importance of water in the U.S. economy to:

• Summarize existing knowledge about the role and importance of water to the U.S. economy;
• Provide information that supports private and public sector decision-making, and
• Identify areas where additional research would be useful.

EPA hopes that the study will also be a catalyst for a broader discussion on the role of water in the economy and the information required to support efficient and effective economic decisions related to water.

As part of the study, EPA has supported the development of a series of papers written by experts to supplement existing information and to present current economic analyses and innovations. EPA has held a technical workshop to present and discuss the agency’s literature review and the expert papers, and to solicit feedback. EPA will release a draft report that synthesizes all of this information in the coming months. The study is expected to be completed sometime in 2013.

Find out more about EPA's study Components

Related Resources

For more information or to provide feedback to EPA on this study, please contact us at: ImportanceOfWater@epa.gov

EPA’s study is not a new law, regulation, guidance, or policy, and does not change any existing laws, regulations, guidances, or policies.