Published
July 02, 2026
For soccer fans, this summer is about the “beautiful game.” For host cities, it’s about something bigger: jobs, small-business growth, tourism, infrastructure, investment, and global visibility. Stadiums will be packed. Hotels and restaurants will be busy. Airports, transit systems, public spaces, and local vendors will be tested in real time.
But none of that growth happens without reliable water.
Water keeps fields playable, stadiums operating, cooling systems running, hotels functioning, restaurants serving, and communities ready to welcome the world. It is not just an environmental issue. It is an economic growth issue.
That is why water reuse is at the center of the playbook.
Levi’s Stadium offers a practical example. Located in the San Francisco Bay Area, it benefits from a mature recycled-water system that helps support non-potable needs such as irrigation and facility operations. That kind of “purple pipe” infrastructure matters because it reduces pressure on drinking water supplies while helping a major venue operate reliably during high-demand events.
SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles has a similar system of even greater scale. In a region where water scarcity is a long-term economic challenge, major venues and surrounding districts need water strategies that match their growth ambitions. Los Angeles is advancing recycled-water expansion, and that matters for hotels, restaurants, construction, landscaping, cooling, and the broader visitor economy that major events depend on.
The U.S. Chamber is helping drive that agenda. We are proud to partner with the EPA on the Water Reuse Action Plan 2.0, which advances industry-led approaches to secure a reliable water supply for the nation’s future. Water is critical to powering manufacturing, energy infrastructure, AI, food production, health care, technology, and the communities where companies operate. If we are serious about sustained economic growth, we must be serious about water.
Water reuse also has a clear economic case: it helps businesses lower operating risk, reduce demand for freshwater supplies, and supports the resilient infrastructure that growing communities and industries need. That is why the Chamber supports the Advancing Water Reuse Act, which creates an industrial water reuse tax credit to encourage companies to invest and deploy reuse technologies.
That also means recognizing companies that are already proving what works. The Global Industrial Water Reuse Champions Award, launched by the U.S. Chamber and partners, highlights businesses putting best-in-class recycling and reuse programs into action. Companies such as Simplot and PepsiCo show that reuse is not theoretical. It is happening today, reducing demand for freshwater resources, improving resilience, and strengthening communities.
This summer gives host cities a platform, and a reason to move faster. The opportunity is not just to host great matches. It is to make smart investments that last long after the final whistle.
Sports bring people together. Infrastructure makes growth possible. Water reuse connects both.
About the author
Rick Wade
Rick C. Wade is senior vice president of Strategic Alliances and Outreach at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
