The next successful political movement will not sell slogans but will offer a credible plan to rebuild the country.

The guiding principle should remain simple: water is a public good. A society that leaves water safety to the luck of geography or income undermines its own stability.

The PWA was one of the core New Deal agencies created under President Franklin D. Roosevelt to combat the Great Depression. Established by the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) of 1933, the PWA was designed as a massive capital-investment program that fused public credit, engineering discipline and regional planning into a single institution. Its success offers a practical model for rebuilding the country’s foundation while avoiding the paralysis that accompanies fragmented policymaking.