From The War Of Currents To The Water Grid: Lessons In Infrastructure, Innovation, And Integration

By Lihy Teuerstein

The War of Currents in the late 1800s pitted Edison’s direct current (DC) against Tesla and Westinghouse’s alternating current (AC) for the future of electricity distribution. Edison’s DC was initially common but could not efficiently transmit power over long distances, leading to its replacement by AC, which enabled vast electrical grids. This conflict wasn’t just technical — it involved business interests, fierce public campaigns, and large-scale infrastructure investments. The resolution created the unified grid powering modern life, built on efficiency and adaptability.

Contemporary Water Infrastructure Challenges

Modern water infrastructure faces aging assets, climate change, population growth, and funding shortfalls. Most water systems operate as isolated local networks, resulting in inefficiencies, vulnerability to contamination, and uneven access. Current spending and investment, while substantial, are often insufficient for the scale of renewal needed to ensure reliable, equitable water for all communities. The politics of the AC vs DC battle offer key lessons for contemporary infrastructure debates, emphasizing the importance of interoperability, strategic standards, public trust, and balancing centralized versus distributed systems. Infrastructure policies — such as funding, procurement, and technology adoption — are often contested by incumbents and challengers, leading to sometimes politicized or protracted decision-making that can either accelerate or stall progress.

Vision For A Water Grid

Proposals for a water grid aim to create a vast, integrated network for water-sharing, akin to the electricity grid born from the War of Currents. The victory of AC was built on its technical ability to connect and expand networks, illustrating why modern infrastructure must prioritize open standards for integration, resilience, and scalability. Today, grid modernization (in energy, water, or communications) depends on technical frameworks, cross-vendor compatibility, and robust cybersecurity — a direct parallel to the harmonization achieved after the War of Currents. Advanced solutions, such as smart water grids, leverage real-time data, digital modeling (digital twins), and algorithmic allocation to optimize distribution across watersheds and regions. These systems promote fairness, resilience, and “hydro-solidarity,” allowing for dynamic trading and equitable distribution — even across political boundaries. New water grid designs prioritize collective stewardship, environmental sustainability, and essential human needs, echoing the vision and unity eventually achieved in electricity.

Scaling Up

Scaling up water treatment projects generally leads to a lower price per unit of water and can improve overall water quality, but it also brings environmental and operational considerations. Economies of scale provide for shared infrastructure, bulk purchasing, and optimized operational efficiency. For example, large desalination plants in Israel have achieved water prices as low as $0.45 per cubic meter — much lower than smaller facilities. Scaling enables adoption of advanced technologies that further decrease energy consumption and operational costs per unit of water. The larger facilities can afford more sophisticated waste management, crucial for controlling brine disposal and chemical pollution.

Existing And Planned Water Grids

The existence of a water distribution system enables scaling of treatment sources and benefitting from the larger capacity. It further enables communities farther from the shoreline to enjoy the benefits of seawater desalination and a sustainable source of water.

The Israeli water grid is a highly integrated national system combining natural resources, advanced infrastructure, and technology to ensure stable water supply, with desalination now playing a central role in meeting demand. The grid historically depended on the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan River, and main groundwater aquifers for most of its water. Infrastructure includes reservoirs, advanced control systems, and vast pipeline networks both north-south and east-west across the country. In response to population growth and repeated droughts, Israel developed a strategic portfolio of large-scale seawater desalination plants since the early 2000s. The water system connects desalinated water from coastal plants directly to consumers, stabilizing supply and even enabling flow reversal to protect natural resources like the Sea of Galilee.

Senator Charles Perry, Chairman of the Texas Senate Committee on Water, Agriculture, and Rural Affairs, leads efforts to oversee and develop water policy, infrastructure, and legislation for the state. As part of his efforts he has filed SB 7, which creates the Office of Water Supply Conveyance Coordination, aiming at optimizing water supply infrastructure construction for regional and statewide interconnection and interoperability. The regionality approach, led by the adoption of a state distribution grid, has the ability and potential to change the water dynamics of a state which is a leader in both population and economic growth.

Public Perception And Trust

The AC/DC conflict was rife with public misinformation and manufactured fears, reminding today’s leaders to address community concerns and build trust through transparency, education, and engagement. Successful infrastructure projects today must navigate public skepticism, evolving social priorities, and the ethical use of resources.

Conclusion

The drive to develop interconnected water grids mirrors the historical transition from incompatible electric systems to today’s efficient power infrastructure. As with the War of Currents, the challenge lies not only in engineering but also in forging consensus, balancing competing interests, and making bold decisions for the common good. Successful water grids could revolutionize resource sharing — much as the triumph of AC electrification did — by enabling sustainable access to water in a rapidly changing world.

Lihy Teuerstein, CEO of IDE Water Assets, has been with IDE since 2011 and has been leading the IDE Water Assets business as of 2018. Her previous roles included establishing and heading the Commercial Department of IDE and General Counsel for the IDE group. Teuerstein has a combined LL.B in Law and Far East Studies from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and is a member of the Israel Bar Association. She also has an M.A. in Sociology and Anthropology from Tel Aviv University.