Sustainability & Resilience
Water 2050: Sustainability & Resilience
The envisioned world of 2050 will include:
- Total utility management and collaboration with water users to create greater economies of scale and higher efficiency.
- Technically advanced systems and a tech-savvy workforce that can respond to challenges quickly (even instantaneously) and effectively.
- A proactive mindset within the water industry that allows us to recognize and address ever-changing needs and requirements.
- Protection of water at the source.
Recommended Actions
The short-term recommended actions for the Sustainability & Resilience Strategic Priority include:
- Establish a water community in which cyber risks are proactively and uniformly addressed.
- Define a “net zero” water community, integrate climate impact and resiliency into financial modeling, and reduce the water community’s climate change impact through adaptive management.
- Apply real-time monitoring and predictive analytics to support resilient resources.
Sustainability for the Future of Water
Water sustainability: By taking action today, we can ensure that everyone will have clean, safe, and reliable access to drinking water and wastewater services by 2050 and beyond.
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Water 2050 Think Tank Reports
Sustainability Think Tank
The first of the think tanks convened in September 2022 and focused on sustainability. Participants engaged in facilitated small and large group conversations, private reflection and panel discussions to imagine the future of water and develop a set of recommended actions. The group included highly respected voices from the water and wastewater utility and consulting community, academia, regulatory agencies and the beverage industry, as well as those with interests in agriculture, climate science, environmental advocacy, and innovation incubators, among others.
Sustainability Think Tank:
Springs Preserve, Las Vegas, Nevada, September 2022
Participants
Adam Carpenter, Ph.D.
Manager of Energy and Environmental Policy, AWWA
Ed Carr
Professor and Director International Development, Community and Environment Department Clark University
Heather Collins
Water Treatment Director Metropolitan Water District of Southern California
Peter Fiske, Ph.D.
Executive Director National Alliance for Water Innovation and Water-Energy Resilience Research Institute at Lawrence Berkeley National
Paul Fleming
President Water Value LLC
Thomas Iseman
Director of Water Scarcity and Markets Global Freshwater Program The Nature Conservancy
Joe Jacangelo, Ph.D.
Vice President Director of Research Stantec
David L. Johnson
Deputy General Manager, Operations Las Vegas Valley Water District Southern Nevada Water Authority
Anthony Kane
President & CEO Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure
David LaFrance
CEO AWWA
Angela Licata-Misiak
Deputy Commissioner for Sustainability New York City Department of Environmental Protection
Cissy Ma, Ph.D.
Environmental Engineer U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Paula MacIlwaine
Deputy CEO AWWA
Barb Martin
Director of Engineering and Technical Services AWWA
Sue McCormick
CEO 4Leaders, LLC
Daniel Nix
Utility Operations Manager City of Wichita Falls
Jon Radtke
Water Sustainability Program Director Coca-Cola North America
Guillermo Rivera
Environmental Engineer Miami-Dade County Division of Environmental Resources Management
Chi Ho Sham, Ph.D.
Past President, AWWA Independent Consultant
Negin Tousi
Project Manager David Nairne and Associates
Cindy Wallis-Lage
Executive Director of Sustainability & Resilience Black & Veatch
Robin Webb, Ph.D.
Director National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Physical Sciences Laboratory
Renée Willette
Vice President, Programs and Strategy U.S. Water Alliance
Roger R. Wolf
Co-Director Iowa Soybean Association – Research Center for Farming Innovation
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