» Clean Water Current Archive

October 19, 2012

NACWA Focuses on a Vision for the Future as the Clean Water Act Turns 40

The Clean Water Act celebrated its much-anticipated 40th anniversary yesterday and NACWA targeted key audiences and the media to share its advocacy priorities and a collaborative Vision for Clean Water for the next decade and beyond.  On Monday, October 15, NACWA, the Water Environment Federation (WEF) and the Association of Clean Water Administrators (ACWA) came together to celebrate 40 years of accomplishments under the Clean Water Act (CWA) and to call for a new joint vision to ensure further water quality progress.  EPA’s Ellen Gilinsky, Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of Water, opened the session.  The Executive Directors of NACWA, WEF and ACWA made remarks, as did NACWA Public Agency Members Alexandria Renew Enterprises represented by Chief Executive Officer Karen Pallansch; Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission represented by Jerry N. Johnson, General Manager/CEO; and DC Water represented by George Hawkins, General Manager.  Carlton Haywood, Executive Director, Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin and ACWA Interstate Board Representative, also presented from the State regulatory perspective.  The speakers generally agreed that the CWA has led to vastly improved water quality and community and economic vitality in the United States, and discussed the even greater financial, environmental, and sustainability challenges that lie ahead with a candor about the potential need to modify the Act.  The joint press release and 2020 Vision Paper were distributed at the event.  A video of the event is available on YouTube and media coverage from the event is available on NACWA’s News and Media webpage.

NACWA also participated in a CWA 40th anniversary event hosted by the Clean Water Network – an umbrella organization of over 1,200 water-related environmental NGO groups.  The Capitol Hill event celebrated this major milestone with a speech from Congressman James Moran (D-Va.) and a ceremonial cutting of a special CWA birthday cake.  Ken Kirk, NACWA’s Executive Director, spoke and discussed how the Act has led to vastly improved water quality and economic vitality over the past 40 years, and how NACWA members are turning to new, innovative solutions to ensure a future of clean water.  Being asked to participate in this event also exemplifies the progress made in recent years in the working relationship between NACWA and the NGO community.  

NACWA also spoke at the 3-Rivers Wet Weather Conference in Pennsylvania and at the Chesapeake Water Environment Association’s conference this week in Maryland about the importance of using the CWA anniversary as a platform for a serious reappraisal of the Act and to the ongoing need to advance key NACWA regulatory and legislative priorities, such as the Money Matters . . . Smarter Investment to Advance Clean Water™ campaign and the Water Resources Utility of the Future initiative.

NACWA Urges Open Stakeholder Dialogue for Pesticide Registration Review

Not sure Social Media is for your Utility? Let’s Talk about It!

• Are You Really LinkedIn?  (November 7)

• Leveraging Facebook for Utilities  (December 12)

• YouTube and the Power of Video  (January 9)

• Social Media & Clean Water Utilities – Case Studies and Best Practices  (February 13)
  

All seminars take place from 2:00 – 3:00 pm Eastern Time.
Purchase these four exceptionally high-value seminars on the why’s and how’s of social media for public utilities at a special rate of $775.00 and receive complimentary copies of a Blogging Best Practices e-book and Return on Impact – Leadership Strategies for the Age of Connected Relationships by David Nour.  We invite you to visit NACWA’s website for more details and to register for these invaluable Seminars.

New on Engage™. . .Three Key Interest Groups

This week, NACWA launched three new interest groups on Engage^TM that are dedicated to issues of concern to public utilities nationwide.  These new groups complement the seven previously launched groups, and are part of NACWA's ongoing effort to roll out its interactive online network to encourage collaboration and knowledge-sharing among Association members.  The three new groups are:

• Water Resources Utility of the Future -focusing on the innovative management, technologies, and approaches being used at wastewater treatment plants across the country;

• Water Quality Standards/Criteria -focusing on the challenges of clean water agencies in meeting water quality standards and criteria and the possible fixes to the way the Nation approaches water quality; and,

• Utility Management - discussing the many challenges clean water agencies are facing including rising costs, aging infrastructure, increasingly stringent regulatory requirements, population changes, and a rapidly changing workforce.

In the next phase of the Engage^TM rollout, groups will be created for each of NACWA’s Standing Committees, making online committee discussions a core component of the Association’s strategic advocacy work.

NACWA Reaches 1,000 Twitter Followers

Oct. 23 Hotel Deadline for NACWA’s Law Seminar Is Just a Few Days Away

Awaken the Leader Within – Attend the Water & Wastewater Leadership Center