My Water Week 2018 in Review

Good day, colleagues--

Below is a brief overview of the highlights and takeaways from Water Week 2018 in DC from my perspective. I was honored by the privilege to attend with and support the Ohio Water Environment Association alongside some esteemed Ohio colleagues. "Water Week 2018 communicated the value of water to environmental protection, to economic development and to job creation."

• A Pilgrimage to DC: “A pilgrimage is a journey or search of moral or spiritual significance.” No different than that of any religious pilgrimage, Water Week can be viewed in a similar way. Water industry reps, including the OWEA team, from all around our great nation embark on a journey to our nation’s capital to honor our public servants, ask for representation, and engage in dialog about what it is going to take to protect our nation’s most precious resource, water!
• The Introductory Events: Water Week was kicked off on Tuesday by some of the nation’s leaders in the industry via the Policy Fly-In Plenary Sessions. Here, participants were briefed about the state of the water industry and the week’s messaging and planned events. From here, roundtable discussions ensued aimed at diving deeper into a plethora of topics including innovation, wet weather, nutrients, funding and so on.
• The Water Week Team Bonding: Similar to any sports or organizational team, the OWEA team is only as effective as its internal bond. The team took advantage of opportunities across Water Week to network and bond with each other. The week’s events provide a series of opportunities for team members to gain perspective, share stories, and get on the same page ahead of very important meetings ‘on the Hill’. Your OWEA team did just that and it paid off in a big way throughout the week.
• Meetings on the Hill: Wednesday’s agenda included a kick off reception ‘on the Hill’ that included some of the nation’s water leaders including a rousing address by former DC Water General manager, George Hawkins. From there, meetings with representatives were to follow. The OWEA team participated in 10 meetings with various offices. Many of them included direct contact and dialog with the elected representative including representatives Marcy Kaptur, Jim Jordan, and Bob Gibbs. Of special note, the OWEA team was honored to spend a significant chunk of time (where we actually lost track of time) with Congresswoman Kaptur, the longest serving woman in House history, where she passionately spoke about her concern of and interest in solving the Western Lake Erie Basin nutrient/sediment/water quality issue. Ms. Kaptur’s passion was inspiring! In addition, the OWEA Water Week team announced the 2018 OWEA Public Service award designation to Senator Sherrod Brown at their meeting with his office. We look forward to a formal award ceremony later with Senator Brown in 2018!
• Takeaways: Water Week left the OWEA team with the following takeaways. (1) Use your voice: Sometimes, it’s not WHAT you know, but rather WHO you know. (2) The solvency and continuation of funding programs like the SRLF and WIFIA must be a priority in order to allow Ohio’s communities to meet water quality goals. (3) Regulations must be effective and common-sensical and permitting must be flexible, as we look to solve challenging water-quality problems. (4) Our elected officials need OWEA to serve as a collaborating partner to meet our nation’s water challenges. (5) Always wear tennis shoes when ‘on the Hill’ (cause you’ll end up walking miles and miles and miles)!
• Next Steps: The OWEA Water Week team will be participating in a debrief across the next few weeks to define lessons learned and schedule action items. OWEA membership may see various Water Week-related events come across the schedule later on into 2018!

Cheers and feel free to comment or reach out with any follow up comments or questions--JT