Page 4 - Clean Water Advocate - December 2012/January 2013
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A Clear Commitment to America’s Waters
54
2013 Winter Conference
But how is the clean water community supposed to make sense of
the technologies and options available to them in meeting the needs
of the future? As the demands of wastewater treatment regulations
and related environmental requirements drive the clean water com-
munity toward more innovative technologies, and as the number of
potential technologies continues to grow, the utility community will
need to find ways to identify those technologies that present the most
viable solutions. At the same time, resource constrained technology
developers are looking for investment, but need to demonstrate not
only the technical capabilities but the market potential of their prod-
ucts. Combine those two ingredients with venture capitalists look-
ing for the right investment and the clean water community could
stand to reap the benefits. The Winter Conference will provide par-
ticipants with multiple perspectives on reducing the risk associated
with innovation and how we can better stack the deck for success.
The recent devastation caused by Superstorm Sandy, which did not
spare the clean water community, has provided a glimpse of the
challenges that lay ahead for the clean water community. While
future changes in the climate are clearly a driver, extreme weather
events, aging infrastructure challenges, security threats, and water
resource availability, among other drivers, are already impacting util-
ity decision-making. During a panel session that will serve to tee up
NACWA’s 2013 Summer Conference & 43rd Annual Meeting, speak-
ers will discuss the challenges ahead and what is being done to shore
up utility resiliency.
The Conference agenda, registration information for the conference
and hotel, and additional information can be found on
.
A
re you like many of your utility colleagues – knowing that
social media could add value to your agency, but not quite
sure where to begin or what to do with it? Social media
represents both an opportunity and a challenge for public
clean water utilities. It can easily appear to be both an invaluable
tool to showcase the essential services you bring to your community
– and a seemingly endless foray into the unknown.
Join your clean water colleagues as we showcase current examples
of utilities that have implemented social media – and focus on both
the challenges they faced in implementation and the opportuni-
ties they see for its future use. In this web seminar, you will learn
through their experiences,
and walk away with invaluable
tips, tricks, and tested ideas to
embark on – or improve – your
own social media program.
Whether you are part of a small, medium or large utility, one thing
is for sure – your rate payers are using social media – and there is no
reason you shouldn’t be too! We invite you to engage key members
of your staff in this unique and important offering for the NACWA
member cost of $200/utility. Registration is available on
.
Social Media & Clean Water Utilities –
Case Studies and Best Practices
Wednesday, February 13, 2013, 2:00 – 3:00 PM ET
clean water utilities.
NACWA Priorities Front & Center
NACWA will continue to push its member’s priorities – remind-
ing Members of Congress of the important public health, economic
and job creation benefits continued investments in clean water in-
frastructure have for our local communities and for the nation as
a whole; advancing an affordability agenda that includes codifica-
tion of the Integrated Planning initiative launched last year by the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and establishing better
regulatory tools for managing wet weather; advancing an innova-
tions agenda that provides policy incentives for greater use of green
infrastructure and resource recovery technologies; and, promoting
watershed-based approaches to meeting water quality challenges
such as water quality trading and better management of agricultural
nutrient run-off. The Association expects that many of these priori-
ties will be well-received by fiscally-conscious members interested in
ensuring that ratepayer dollars are spent wisely and getting the most
environmental benefits from the investments that utilities are being
asked to make.
The 113th Congress will face many important challenges and while
it’s too early to tell how they will confront these challenges, NACWA
is hopeful that its message and policy proposals will resonate.
Legislative Outlook
