Chapter 3.3 - Comparison of Water Management Institutions and Approaches in the United States and Europe—What Can We Learn From Each Other?

Abstract

This chapter compares water management institutions and approaches in the United States and Europe and describes what the two communities can learn from each other. It begins by comparing and contrasting the history and status of water policy in the two communities. EU water policy is celebrated for its unification by way of a consistent enactment and implementation of the Water Framework Directive, starting in 2000. While US water policy is more fragmented than the EU policy, much US legislation has been implemented with guidance from requirements of the cost–benefit framework originally mandated in the 1930s. Water governance and management is next investigated, in which EU and US principles and water management institutions are compared. US water policy implementation is influenced by international treaties and interstate compacts. Special attention is given to several policy innovations in both the European Union and the United States.