Amid funding and programmatic uncertainty, many communities are testing new plans, exploring new financing tools, and even rethinking how they govern and operate their water infrastructure. Aging distribution pipes, overwhelmed sewers, and other vulnerable systems not only pose environmental and public health risks, but also strain state and local budgets, as well as those of the public utilities that own and operate this infrastructure.   Now, “regionalization”—collaborations or partnerships among geographically proximate local water systems—is gaining renewed momentum nationally as a potential solution. But the specifics of how communities pursue regional coordination vary widely, and simply focusing on the economics of small systems to do so overlooks a key point: how utilities can more effectively function as essential community and economic partners and service providers.