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American Water Summit 2013

Nov 20, 2013

By: Brian Jordan
Two weeks ago, many members of the Value of Water Coalition attended the American Water Summit in Washington DC. Under the theme “Accelerating Change,” this year’s Summit highlighted key challenges associated with the value of water, including the need to make good on five years of deferred investment, confronting the growing demand for water in America’s energy economy, and addressing the growing reluctance among customers to support increased rates without improvements in performance. Several attendees live-tweeted the event under the hashtags #AWS13 and #changewater – take a look at just a few of those tweets below:

Nancy Stoner, Acting Assistant Administrator for Water, EPA (@EPAWater) provided EPA’s perspective on the major regulatory drivers that will be shaping the industry in the coming years. Earlier in the week, EPA issued a report highlighting the economic benefits of water to the US economy. She offered some highlights from that report and reminded attendees that the value of water isn’t just an issue for residents of urban areas. Several large and medium sized systems serve the majority of US population, but the largest number of water and wastewater systems is dedicated to small communities. But if the water industry develops partnerships, collaborates, and promotes cost-effective innovation, all of the country’s residents will benefit and understand the value of water.

The opening plenary session focused on challenges facing the water industry, including economic growth, underinvestment, and public responsiveness towards the value of water. NACWA (@NACWA) highlighted how New York City’s (@NYCWater) promotion of water conservation resulted in a consistent drop in water usage.

But the value of water extends well beyond cities and urban markets. Bob Bailey, CH2M Hill (@Access_Water), highlighted key issues that industrial users are addressing related to the water-energy nexus.

During the event, Summit attendees participated in several live polls. This tweet from NAWC (@MovinH2OForward) highlighted poll results showing that many of the attendees see a direct linkage between new technologies and the ability to reduce costs and improve value.

Several elected officials and policy makers spoke during the Summit. They offered a great perspective, challenged the status quo, and urged attendees to think outside of the box.

Several speakers highlighted the need for continued innovation and leadership and challenged the attendees to address lingering issues facing the water sector. Debra Coy (@Coy_Debra) summarized comments from one of the panel discussions, emphasizing the key takeaway that it remains difficult to finance and invest in our nation’s water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure.

Lisa Downes (@LisaWDownes) offered a great summary of the event in the following short tweet:

To stay up to speed with all things water, follow the Value of Water Coalition (@TheValueofWater) and join in the conversation using the hashtag #valueofwater or#thevalueofwater.

Brian Jordan (@jordanbrianl) is a Vice President and Director, Global Corporate Development with MWH Global (@MWHGlobal).