Where we are in the next 50 years is going to be heavily influenced by the decisions made in the next 20

Thank you NACWA for another opportunity to connect with peers and for ensuring the safety and comfort were prioritized for attendees at your Winter Conference this week. I'm grateful to have spent the last few days in the company of some of waters greatest stewards that have been a source of inspiration for my work. Bearing that in mind, we are at a pivotal time where water leaders have the opportunity to be at the center of championing the decisions we MUST make to navigate and LEAD on the challenges ahead.?

Some of my key reflections and takeaways from this week include:

• How do we take this once-in-a-generation investment (and the largest investment in clean drinking water in American history) at 55B to leverage innovative technology? Just like the business-as-usual mindset won’t get us where we need to be, the same goes for investing in the deployment with conventional solutions. We have an obligation to deploy innovative solutions and regulators have the obligation to help reframe risk so that communities can do so with confidence. Two ideas to put out there include:

1. Establishing a national clearinghouse of qualified solutions that have been vetted and demonstrated so that these resources can be leveraged at scale for all.?
2. There must be greater loan forgiveness opportunities and incentives if innovative solutions are implemented, particularly even more so if addressing climate change and disadvantaged communities.?

• Collaboration and people are key to achieving better outcomes. I believe we turn this up a notch by prioritizing ways to address procurement, supply chain, and leveraging of utility resources.?
• Rather than the typical "consolidation" response to where the water sector is going, more specifically, the future of water management will be One Water and watershed-based.?
• Connecting and raising public awareness of water's integral role in the quality of life might be our greatest opportunity (moonshot: what if our dozens of member associations pulled their public outreach budgets together, and then some, to hire a creative marketing firm and take up ad space during the Superbowl?! Imagine the possibilities to make an impact in 10 seconds versus several years of the same old tactics.)
• Along those lines, storytelling is an undervalued priority. We need to go outside of our water bubbles to create a personal connection with water for ALL the diverse stakeholders in our communities, to educate, raise awareness, and build trust.?
• Water utilities do have an integral role in how we achieve environmental justice, address systemic flaws that contribute to pockets of disadvantaged communities, and how we can lead on climate change initiatives.?
• Water utilities can and should challenge producers to rethink their products, not just based on their water footprint but also on the materials/chemicals used that impact the water cycle and the environment.??
• Looking ahead to the next 50 years, water utilities will need to rethink their services to adapt to the power of customers, new market entrants, and other forces (those familiar with Porter's 5 Forces model will understand this concept well). This includes diversity in their sources and operations (distributed systems and One Water facilities) as well as their services (field operators to support private residential and commercial systems).?

We all want our communities and future generations to thrive, and as history illustrates, water and sanitation access is key to achieving this quality of life. We need leaders with more than great talking points. We need proactive not reactive leadership. We need visionaries who can inspire what is possible working towards common ground yet fiercely challenge the status quo. We need leaders who are going to represent ALL stakeholders and ensure that no one is left behind. Our future depends on it and where we are in the next 50 years is going to be heavily influenced by the decisions made in the next 20.?

Several leaders contributed to the points made and/or inspired my own reflection that I want to acknowledge. They include Laura Briefer Director of Public Utilities Salt Lake City Corporation, Adel H. Hagekhalil Chief Executive Officer & General Manager Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, Sharise Horne Director of Community Benefits & Partnerships Louisville & Jefferson County Metropolitan Sewer District, Kathryn Sorensen Director of Research, Professor of Practice, Morrison Institute for Public Policy, Andrew Lee Interim General Manager/ Chief Executive Officer Seattle Public Utilities, Kishia L. Powell Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President DC Water, Todd P. Swingle Executive Director Toho Water Authority Kissimmee, FL, and Radhika Fox Assistant Administrator, Office of Water U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.