George McGraw: Closing the Water Access Gap in the United States

George McGraw is a leading expert on water and sanitation in the United States and around the world. He currently serves as the Founder & CEO of DigDeep, the only WaSH (water, sanitation and hygiene) organization solely focused on the USA. In 2019, he co-authored the ‘Closing the Water Access Gap in the United States’ Report, an explosive study that revealed over 2.2 million Americans currently live without a tap or toilet at home, with race being the #1 predictor of water insecurity. In 2022, he was the lead author on ‘Draining: The Economic Impact of America’s Hidden Water Crisis’ which calculated this water access gap costs the US economy $8.58 billion each year it remains unsolved. The report also found that there is hope: for every $1 invested in closing the water gap, the US economy would see a nearly 5x return.

George works with local government officials, policymakers and utility providers to innovate unique solutions to the problems of water and sanitation access in different areas of the nation, consciously avoiding a “one-size-fits-all” approach which fails to address the varied intersections of water poverty and environmental racism that plague the country’s infrastructure.

George is a leading queer voice in social change, entrepreneurship and environmental justice. He is an Ashoka Fellow, a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network and former Social Entrepreneur in Residence at Stanford University. George holds an M.A. in International Law and the Settlement of Disputes from the United Nations University for Peace, where his thesis on the “minimum core” of human water rights quickly became an intellectual staple for human rights programs around the world.

NEXT STEPS:

— Visit George’s website and follow him on Twitter.

— Read the Draining: The Economic Impact of America’s Hidden Water Crisis that was released on June 28!

— Learn more about DigDeep and consider donating today!

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