How do we protect our most essential resource while balancing agriculture, economic development, and community well-being?

A recent YPO Planet Action Network session brought together researchers, public health experts, Indigenous leaders, and organizers to explore the growing challenges facing water security across North America. From the depletion of the Ogallala Aquifer and Colorado River Basin to water contamination from industrial agriculture and the ongoing fight for Indigenous water rights, the discussion highlighted both the scale of the crisis and the pathways toward meaningful action.

Key Takeaways

Groundwater depletion is accelerating. Critical freshwater resources, including the Ogallala Aquifer, are being withdrawn at unsustainable rates, threatening drinking water supplies, food production, and regional economic stability.
Agriculture sits at the center of the water challenge. Water-intensive farming practices, livestock feed production, and industrial-scale agriculture account for the majority of water use in many regions and contribute significantly to water contamination.
Water quality is as urgent as water quantity. Nitrate pollution, manure runoff, and agricultural chemicals are creating serious public health concerns in communities across the United States, particularly in heavily farmed regions.
Indigenous perspectives offer essential solutions. Water is not simply a commodity but a living relative. Indigenous knowledge, stewardship practices, and community-led decision-making provide important models for long-term water sustainability.
People-powered organizing drives change. Research and data are critical, but meaningful policy change happens when communities organize, build coalitions, and engage decision-makers to protect water resources and advance sustainable solutions.
Technology alone is not enough. While innovation has a role to play, lasting water security will require conservation, responsible resource management, policy reform, and a shift toward stewardship over extraction.

Resources Shared
Champion

Tom Curnin : https://www.linkedin.com/in/tom-curnin-1161a911/

Moderator

Kevin Curnin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevin-curnin-a82b80237/

Organizations

Food & Water Watch - https://www.foodandwaterwatch.org
Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health - https://cih.jhu.edu

Recommended Reading:

The More We Take — Kevin Curnin
Theory of Water — Leanne Betasamosake Simpson
Running Out — Lucas Bessire
Northern Light: Power, Land, and the Memory of Water — Zakim Ali

This conversation reflects the YPO Planet Action Network mission- empowering leaders to rethink the relationship between nature, communities, and capital to drive meaningful impact.

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