ACE26 keynote speaker urges the public to see water (and the people behind it) more clearly

Charles Fishman, an award-winning journalist and bestselling author of “The Big Thirst,” has traveled the globe to understand how water works, how it fails, and how communities find their way back from crisis. His reporting for “The Big Thirst” took him to Las Vegas, Australia, and India, and revealed two essential truths:

We know how to solve every major water problem.

But we have trouble explaining those problems — and the solutions — to the people who depend on us.

“Water people know what needs to be done to fix water — whether the problem is in Bangalore, or Orlando, or Jakarta. But we often struggle to tell the story of water smartly and persuasively,” he said. “And with new demands on water systems from so many groups, being able to explain clearly how water works is just as important as getting the engineering and the technology right.”

Fishman’s ability to translate systems into stories is one reason he has become a forceful, engaging public voice for change in water. He will offer a keynote at the Opening General Session of AWWA’s Annual Conference and Exposition this June. But it’s his perspective on the people inside the sector that resonates most deeply. Water professionals have been too good at their jobs, he said — so good that the public isn’t always aware of the complexity, cost, and heroism behind everyday reliability.

“Most people go their whole lives and never have a water main failure that takes down the water supply to their house, and that’s because water works,” he said. “It’s designed to work. But as a result, ordinary people have no idea what’s required to get the water to them, or to take the dirty water away. They don’t know the engineering, and they don’t know the economics.”

That invisibility, Fishman said, makes today’s moment especially urgent. Aging systems, emerging contaminants, federal regulations, and public discourse have converged to put more pressure on utilities than ever before. A new AWWA report captures this paradigm, projecting an alarming financial toll on both utilities and ratepayers by 2050.

“We have people’s attention,” Fishman said. “Water is at the center of the conversation in a way it has never been. Now we need to figure out what to do with that attention — and how to engage people.”

This is where his newest work comes in. Fishman’s recent book, “One Giant Leap: The Impossible Mission That Flew Us to the Moon,” focuses not on astronauts, but on the anonymous engineers and technicians who made the moon landing possible. That story holds a powerful parallel for the water sector.

“The people who got us to the moon are just like you,” he said, referring to water professionals. “They have the same commitment and skill. There’s no secret corps of water superheroes. The people doing the work every day are the water superhero.”

Having immersed himself in both the story of water, and of getting to the moon, Fishman said, “Getting to the moon turns out to be easier than getting water to everyone on Earth who needs it.”

At this year’s ACE keynote, Fishman will invite the water community to recognize this moment not as a crisis, but as a call — a chance to claim visibility, communicate boldly, and take responsibility for shaping the future.

“This is a critical moment,” he says. “No one’s going to help us but us. And we can absolutely do it.”

For more information or to register for ACE, visit ace.awwa.org.