The "Water Power People" report reveals critical infrastructure bottlenecks threatening US reshoring efforts. Despite massive federal funding, severe challenges persist: water systems need $625B in upgrades, the power grid faces reliability risks with NERC warnings, and semiconductor workforce shortages could reach 146,000 by 2029. Success requires better planning, faster permitting, and realistic timelines acknowledging these limitations.
The true cost extends beyond infrastructure spending to include project delays, skyrocketing utility costs, and environmental impacts. The full price tag represents a generational investment challenge far exceeding federal allocations, with compounding effects from competing regional priorities and rushed implementation.
For decades, we externalized these costs by offshoring manufacturing, creating an illusion of efficiency while other countries absorbed the true resource burden. Now, reshoring means confronting long-deferred infrastructure investments simultaneously. What seemed economically efficient was actually cost displacement, and the bill is coming due without the gradual investment that should have accompanied our digital economy.