Seminar

Interesting Times: Water in a Time of Turbulence

November 6-7, 2025

Washington, D.C.

image

Financial & Legal Roundtables

Interesting Times: Water in a Time of Turbulence

Page Content

Add to Calendar

use-title 11/06/2025 12:00 AM 11/07/2025 12:00 AM America/New_York Interesting Times: Water in a Time of Turbulence Washington, D.C.

Register Here

An AWWA Financial and Legal Communities Program Regional Roundtable

Sponsored by Garney Construction

Reception sponsored by Bank of America

attend

Registration is Open!

Register Here

Dates & Location:
November 6-7, 2025
The Royal Sonesta Washington DC Capitol Hill
Washington, DC

Roundtable Pricing:
$350 — AWWA Member
$450— Non-member

Who Should Attend?

Water utility c-suite (i.e., CEOs, GMs, CFOs, COOs, CIOs, GCs, Senior management staff, etc.)

Senior water sector leaders (consultants, manufacturers, etc.)

Senior municipal government, legal, and financing staff

Financial and legal professionals in the water space

Representatives from large water user industries

Federal and state regulatory staff

Congressional staff

Quick Links

Location Information

Thank You to Our Sponsors

waves bg

Program

The Roundtable will take place at the Royal Sonesta Washington DC Capitol Hill Hotel, 20 Massachusetts Avenue NW, in Washington, DC. All times below are Eastern; program is subject to minor adjustments.

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 6

8:00 – 8:30 a.m.

Attendee Check-in (continental breakfast available)

8:45 a.m.

Welcome, Introduction, Overview of the Roundtable

9:00 a.m.

Current and Evolving Regulatory and Legislative Activities Impacting the Water Sector
An interactive, round robin discussion by and between leaders of key water organizations on current regulatory and legislative activities impacting water utilities and the sector, and their likely pathways forward in 2026.


Moderator
Tracy Mehan, Executive Director, Government Affairs│AWWA


Panelists
Matt Holmes, CEO │National Rural Water Association (NRWA)
Rikardo (Rik) Hull, Chief Operating Officer and Executive VP – Strategy and External Affairs │National Association of Water Companies (NAWC)
Adam Krantz, CEO │National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA)
Bruno Pigott, Executive Director │WateReuse Association

10:30 a.m.

Break

10:45 a.m.

Legal and Management Perspectives on Current and Evolving Federal and State Developments on Key Water Issues
A moderated discussion focusing on key legal and management aspects of current and evolving developments at both the Federal and state levels on such key water issues as PFAS, lead and copper, and toxins.


Moderator
Andrianne Payson, Esq., Executive Vice President and General Counsel │Veolia North America


Panelists
Jessica Brody, Esq., General Counsel │Denver Water
Andrew Homer, Esq., Partner │Kelley Drye & Warren LLP
Stephen P. Smith, Esq., Of Counsel │Beveridge & Diamond

12:15 p.m.

Lunch and program: A conversation on current and evolving water and related legislative activities in both the House and the Senate. Moderated by Tracy Mehan, with participation by Brittany A. Bolen, Esq., Partner – Sidley Austin

1:30 p.m.

Financing Developments and Trends in the Water Sector
This interactive panel will explores how water utilities are planning for and meeting infrastructure and operational costs amid aging infrastructure, higher customer rates and shifting federal, state, and private funding landscapes. Experts from the water utility and financial sectors will discuss trends in municipal finance, public-private partnerships (P3s), and rate-setting strategies, with a focus on affordability, resilience, and innovation.


Moderator
Matthew Brown, CFO and Executive Vice President | DC Water


Panelists
Nicolette N. Bateson, CFO and Treasurer | Great Lakes Water Authority
Jill Jamieson, President and CEO | Illuminati Infrastructure Advisors
Tom Liu, Managing Director | BofA Securities – Bank of America

3:00 p.m.

Break

3:15 p.m. 

WIFIA, SRFs, and Federal Funding Opportunities for Water Infrastructure and Operations
An interactive discussion with leading representatives from EPA on current and evolving federal programs and opportunities available to water utilities going into 2026.

4:45 p.m.

Recap of today’s sessions, preview of tomorrow’s sessions

5:00 – 6:30 p.m.

Networking Reception, Sponsored by Bank of America

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 7

8:00 a.m.

Registration (Continental breakfast available)

8:30 a.m.

Data Centers and Water: Current and Evolving Challenges
Data centers are a rapidly growing part of the economy. These facilities house thousands of servers performing the computations for and storing the data used by millions of websites and web services that make up the “cloud.” Demand for artificial intelligence (AI) will also drive the number and concentration of these centers. While the energy needs of these operations dominate the national conversation, this panel will explore the consequences of data centers for water and utility managers, planners and consumers. The demand for water is driven by the centers’ cooling requirements. Thus, water availability is one of the key issues going forward.


Moderator
Rebecca Slabaugh, Water Planning Director | Arcadis


Panelists
Brian Carnes, General Manager | Loudoun Water
Benjamin Loveday, Assistant County Administrator Community Operations | Spotsylvania County
Diana Rodriguez, Principal, Sustainability Public Policy | Amazon Web Services

10:00 a.m.

Break

10:15 a.m.

What’s Keeping You Up At Night?
An interactive discussion with senior water utility executive on current and evolving issues and concerns that are foremost on their minds.

Moderator
Tracy Mehan, Executive Director, Government Affairs | AWWA

Panelists
Randy E. Hayman, Commissioner | Philadelphia Water Department
Roy Hesemann, Utilities Director | City of Cedar Rapids
Kishia L. Powell, General Manager and CEO | WSSC Water

11:45 a.m.

Wrap Up, Thank Yous

12:00 p.m.

Adjourn

Advertisement

Washington DC
The Royal Sonesta Washington DC Capitol Hill

20 Massachusetts Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20001

The Roundtable will take place on November 6 & 7 in the hotel’s function space.

Location

Washington, DC

Newly opened, just steps away from DC’s most significant landmarks, including the White House, the DC Monuments, and the Smithsonian, the Royal Sonesta features a sweeping glass façade, a 10-story atrium, and a curated selection of commissioned artworks.

A small block of rooms is reserved at the AWWA rate of $289 plus taxes per night. Please book early!

Hotel Reservations

Continue Your Journey

Event@2x
Seminars & Workshops

Advance your knowledge with an AWWA seminar and workshop on focused topics.

Event@2x
Webinars

Learn at your own pace with AWWA webinars covering a wide-range of topics in the water community.

Event@2x
Call for Abstracts

Submit an abstract today!