Every March 22nd since 1993, World Water Day has drawn global attention to freshwater. Freshwater is so fundamental that throughout history, human civilization has organized itself around access to water. Case in point for today: roughly 88% of U.S. cities are located on or adjacent to a significant body of water, relying on those resources for drinking water. That’s not a coincidence. It’s survival.
World Water Day’s theme this year – “Water and Gender: Where Water Flows, Equality Grows” – puts women at the center of the conversation about how we solve today’s water challenges. For ION, that theme hits close to home. In the affordable housing sector we serve, approximately 74% of HUD-assisted affordable housing households are female-headed.
An Invisible Problem That Needs Addressing
These are women managing households, raising children, and depending on their property owners to keep the water running, lights on, and building maintained – all at a rent they can afford.
What they and many property owners may not know is that the water flowing through their building is quietly draining away. Invisible leaks from running toilets, aging water heaters, and worn-out fixtures are costing affordable housing providers. Across the sector, an estimated 390 billion gallons of water are lost to invisible leaks every year, representing $5.8 billion paid annually for wasted water.
And the problem is getting worse. Water and sewer costs for U.S. households have increased 24% on average over the past five years. Affordable housing property owners have been absorbing those increases, but that trend is unsustainable.
The Financial Case for Fixing Invisible Leaks
Affordable housing runs on thin margins. When utility costs rise consistently or spike unpredictably, the consequences cascade. There’s less money for capital improvements or to cover the costs of the many other cost increases in the budget. The math is unforgiving.
But the math can also work in reverse. Every dollar saved on water costs is a dollar that can stay in affordable housing. Over the past 12 years, ION has helped affordable housing partners save over 6 billion gallons of water and $96 million in utility costs. These savings represent real reinvestment potential – in upgrades that improve residents’ quality of life, maintenance that protects long-term asset value, or the financial ability to develop more affordable housing in communities that need it.
The women and families living in these communities don’t control the water infrastructure around them. But their housing stability, community, and quality of life all depend on affordable housing developers having the financial resilience to maintain and invest in properties over the long term. Uncontrolled water costs can threaten that resilience.
Controlling Water Costs Supports Conservation
Saving money matters. But what we do, or fail to do, with water has consequences that stretch well beyond a utility bill.
Water is the foundation of the ecosystems, economies, and communities cities are built on. When we waste water, we draw down the watersheds that every city, neighborhood and household depends on. As water resources are under pressure from two directions at once – rising industrial demand and shrinking availability from climate change – conservation is more important than ever.
When we conserve water, we protect the resource that makes everything else possible. Keeping water in watersheds isn’t just good environmental stewardship – it’s securing the next generation’s future.
Women Leading the Way
In alignment with the 2026 World Water Day theme, at ION, we believe that solving water challenges in affordable housing requires women’s voices and leadership. That’s why we’re proud to be a sponsor of the upcoming Women in Affordable Housing Network Summit this May. ION’s own Masha Wolfendale, VP of Sales, will be speaking on the “Resilient by Design: Building Climate Ready Affordable Housing” panel alongside other outstanding female leaders shaping the industry’s future.
It’s an important conversation at a critical time.
Water Is the Future
On this World Water Day, we’re reminded that water is not simply a utility or a line item on an operating budget. It’s the thread running through every city and community, keeping economies and ecosystems vibrant and resilient – and keeping affordable housing viable for the millions of families who depend on it.
Here’s to finding more solutions to protect water resources, ensuring those resources are here for the next generation and keeping women’s voices at the center of that work.
