NIBS Issues Call-to-Action Report on Access to Clean Water and Housing Affordability
The 2024 Moving Forward Report, a two-part report focused on recommendations to ensure access to clean water and sanitation and to promote housing affordability issued by the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS).
Compiled by the NIBS Consultative Council, the report is included as a core component of NIBS Annual Report to the President of the United States.
“The Moving Forward Report is our opportunity to research critical issues and offer forward-thinking solutions to these challenges in the built environment,” said Stephen T. Ayers, NIBS Interim President & CEO. “The council’s findings, which are based on expert testimony and research by the council, are designed to ensure access to clean water and sanitation and promote housing affordability for all Americans.”
According to PHCP Pros, In the report, “Water and Sanitation Access and the Built Environment,” the Consultative Council focused on key considerations to inform decisions on planning for, mitigating, and potentially solving clean water access for residential and commercial buildings.
The council concluded that water use in buildings and households is an underexamined and underappreciated aspect of the water crisis in the U.S.
The water and sanitation access report calls for the following:
- Improved and increased data collection efforts regarding water access, quality, and use in households and buildings.
- Increased market share for WaterSense and other efficiency programs, expansion of the use of alternate water sources, and increased focus on water efficiency as it relates to energy efficiency.
- Increased funding for centralized and decentralized water and sanitation infrastructure, especially for projects in underserved communities, and support for strong water treatment standards.
