UCLA Luskin Center for Innovation

Small water systems are 13 times more likely to violate the Safe Drinking Water Act than large systems and are less resilient in the face of drought and other challenges resulting from the climate crisis. Low-income, rural, and indigenous communities bear the brunt of these consequences, thereby perpetuating inequality. Water system consolidation — or the merging of two or more previously independent water systems — presents one possible solution to many of these challenges.