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ACWA hosted a
Clean Water Finance Dialogue
in New
York City June 23-24 with approximately 40 representa-
tives from private investment firms, NACWA Member
Agencies, and the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA). Emily Lloyd, Commissioner for the New York City
Department of Environmental Protection, provided welcoming re-
marks and expressed appreciation for NACWA’s role in convening
the
Dialogue
, stressing the need to find innovative ways to address an
increasingly complex regulatory regime and growing affordability
challenges.
The facilitated session on June 24 focused on the potential for the
public clean water sector to partner with the private sector on mu-
tually beneficial projects – with the understanding that the issue of
utility privatization was not on the table for discussion. There was
general agreement that a new injection of major federal funds in the
near future was unlikely and that utilities and cities across the coun-
try face significant affordability challenges as their infrastructure
continues to age and regulatory and enforcement pressures continue
to mount. All of these factors make private capital and innovative
partnering agreements potentially important parts of the water in-
frastructure picture.
The
Dialogue
underscored that the finance paradigm is changing
and that there will be increasing pressure for greater collaboration
between the public and private sectors. One of the areas likely ripe
for public-private collaborations are efforts related to the Water
Resources Utility of the Future, including reuse, energy production,
and resource recovery. In fact, these areas are already producing
some innovative public-private agreements.
The
Dialogue
demonstrated that private and public interests can en-
gage in very productive discussions, but also that barriers to greater
collaboration do exist. NACWA plans a summary of the
Dialogue
and
will build on this initial effort to ensure a meaningful, long-term
collaboration with private sector investors.
Finance Dialogue Opens Door to Public/Private
Sector Collaboration
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ACWA recently earned a 2014 American Society of
Association Executives (ASAE)
Power of A Gold Award
for its Water Resources Utility of the Future initiative,
transforming how clean water agencies contribute to lo-
cal communities and economies. ASAE honored the Association for
creating a better future by better management of natural resources,
partnering in local economic development activities and delivering
maximum environmental benefits at the lowest cost to society.
NACWA and its partners, Water Environment Federation (WEF) and
the Water Environment Research Foundation (WERF), have created
a series of critical actions – including the
– to help
deliver their vision, including reclaiming and reusing water, extract-
ing and finding commercial uses for nutrients, capturing waste heat
and latent energy, generating renewable energy and using green in-
frastructure to manage stormwater and improve urban quality of
life. “Congratulations to NACWA for benefitting not just their own
industry or profession, but society at large,” said Paul Pomerantz,
CAE, CEO of the American Society of Anesthesiologists and chair of
the Power of A Awards Judging Committee. “This year, our commit-
tee had an exceptionally strong group of entries to consider, and it’s
heartening to see so many organizations excelling in their work.”
With a solid foundation established with the Blueprint, each of the
participating associations has worked to carry forward its message
and tenants to their communities. NACWA, as the advocacy organi-
zation representing the clean water sector, focused on activities that
supported its agenda of advocacy on behalf of the nation’s clean wa-
ter utilities. The Association released a tri fold
defining 10 tangible steps that the nation can take to realize a shared
vision for the utility of the future. The
Call for Federal Action
asked
Congress, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and key federal
agencies to work together and rethink their relationship to the water
sector, as well as take actions to put the technologies and innova-
tions that define the utility of the future within reach for all clean
water agencies.
ASAE’s
Power of A Awards
, the industry’s highest honor, recognize the
association community’s valuable contributions on the local, na-
tional and global level. The
Power of A Awards
reward outstanding ac-
complishments of associations and industry professionals for their
efforts to enrich lives, create a competitive workforce, prepare society
for the future, drive innovation and make a better world.
NACWA Receives Top ASAE Honors for
Water Resources Utility of the Future Initiative
