Who We Are

Our Mission

To advance water security and cultivate cooperation by building a unified body of laws, policies, practices, and standards that ensure the availability of water for current and future generations, and a peaceful, stable, and vibrant global society.

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We believe that water security is a generational imperative. We also believe that it is within reach. 

From the outset, we have charted a course that sets us apart.

Laws create the rights, rules, protections, processes, and institutions we need to achieve water security. Without a set of rules that recognize the importance and value of water to our health, our environment, and our economic strength, there is no guarantee that water security can be achieved.

Laws:

  • Prevent the release of unsafe contaminants into our shared water resources.
  • Help ensure our drinking water is safe from chemicals that threaten our health.
  • Prioritize water to ensure we have enough to meet our daily needs.
  • Manage our water resources equitably in light of a changing climate to make sure the demands on water are balanced against the ability of the environment to meet those needs and intergenerational equity.
  • Enable transparency and public engagement.
  • Create institutions responsible for implementing and enforcing the law.

Our Water History

2015
The CWSC is founded.

On June 16, 2015, Alexandra Campbell-Ferrari and Luke Wilson, along with longtime Board Member Lauren Sheldon, incorporated the CWSC as the first US non-profit dedicated to the achievement of water security through law.

2017
Our first major report: The Accessibility Trap

The CWSC issues its first report, which lays out how the U.S. State of Maryland is facing an Accessibility Trap, where people in neighboring towns could face radically different charges and fees if they are unable to pay for water. The Accessibility Trap report marks the CWSC's focus on access and affordability issues in the United States.

2017
The CWSC launches its work in Africa

With the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the CWSC began its work on the African continent. With teams in Nigeria, Sudan, Kenya, South Africa, and Cote d'Ivoire. Our project, named RENEWAL, is the first attempt to capture all of the laws that affect water in each country in one database.

2018
The BLUE Phone Launched

In 2018, the CWSC ramped up its technical assistance arm--named the BLUE (Building Legal Understanding and Engagement) Phone--with projects in El Salvador, Zambia, and South Sudan. The BLUE Phone works with governments, non-profits, and other stakeholders to build the rule of law and provide technical expertise on water law to all.

2020
The RENEWAL Platform Launched

Just before the Pandemic, the CWSC officially launched its online RENEWAL database at law.thecwsc.org. The Launch took place at the African Water Association's Annual Water Conference in Kampala, Uganda.

2021
The American Water Access Survey

Bringing together policymakers, advocates, government officials and community action agencies, the American Water Access Survey presented a novel view of access challenges in the United States. The AWAS surveyed utilities in five cities and their customers to help chart the course for addressing access in the U.S.

2022
The Community Task Force on Water Equity

The CWSC, with DigDeep, convened the Community Task Force on Water Equity--made up of community members and grassroots water advocates from Alaska to the Gulf. The CTF created recommendations for affordability of water that have since guided the CWSC's advocacy in this area.

2015
2017
2017
2018
2020
2021
2022

Meet the Team

Alexandra Campbell-Ferrari

Co-Founder and Executive Director
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Luke Wilson

Co-Founder and Deputy Director
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Board of Directors

Ken Strzepek

Research Scientist &
Adjunct Professor MIT, Harvard

Lauren Perez

Assistant Professor of Political Science, Francis Marion University

Roger Martella

Chief Corporate Officer, GE Vernova Chief Sustainability Officer, GE Vernova

Advisory Council

Abigail Kortz

Senior Program Manager, Content & AI Compliance Policy, Google LLC

Susan Miller

Fmr. US Department of Health and Human Service

Buzz Thompson

Professor, Stanford Law School

Eric Garner

Managing Partner, Best Best & Kreiger

Jacqueline Guild

Head of Sustainability, Annapolis, Maryland

Become Part of the Team

Keep an eye out for employment and internship opportunities with the Center for Water Security and Cooperation. Internships with the CWSC are an exciting opportunity to explore issues of water security, water law, and water governance across the world from Washington D.C.


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Give and Make Waves

We rely on donations to be able to provide assistance to the areas of the world that are suffering from water stress and scarcity the most. When you give, you are helping to build the foundations of law around the world, and protecting lives across the United States.

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