Day One

November 13, 2019

7:00-8:30

Breakfast & Registration Opens

8:30-10:00

Opening Address

Secretary Rick Perry, US Department of Energy

Opening Plenary

Innovative business models and technologies are redefining how the American water sector responds to its most pressing challenges, as the pillars that have defined the industry for decades are poised for change. Federal regulators, gold standard utilities and industry visionaries provide a holistic outlook on the future of the American water sector.

Keynote Presentation

Rich Karlgaard, Forbes

Chair

Debra Coy, XPV Water Partners

Speakers

Andy Kricun, Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority

Erin Boeke Burke, S&P Global

Howard Neukrug, Global Water Leaders Group

Strand Descriptions for AWS 2018

Finance & Strategy

Show Description

The financial systems that underpin the American water sector are poised for change. This session strand navigates the new business and investment models that will define the industry in the years to come.

CTO Forum

Show Description

Crafting America’s water future requires more than just technological innovation, it requires a 360-degree approach that engages end-users, solutions providers and key stakeholders. These sessions uncover the opportunities for forward-thinkers as the sector responds to its greatest challenges.

Water Leaders

Show Description

This strand showcases the utility-led innovation which is recasting the water sector from the ground up, beginning with the inauguration of new members into the Leading Utilities of the World initiative.

10:00-10:30

Networking & Coffee Break

10:30-12:00

Roundtables

The Most Pressing Questions for America’s Water Future

Click on the tiles to find out more.

 

12:00-1:30

Lunch

12:30-1:30

One-2-One Networking & Coffee Break

The One-2-One Networking Sessions are designed to secure valuable face time with any registered delegate.

One-2-One Networking provides an intimate setting for you to shake hands and strike pivotal deals.

1:30-3:00

Session Strands

Financing Water After the Great Recession of 2020

In 2018 investment has been flowing back into the water sector at a faster rate than at any time since the 2009/10 stimulus, but we can all feel vulnerability at the heart of the system. Income from customer rates is insufficient to meet long term investment needs, and the tax cuts that have spurred economic growth could ultimately entail the restructuring of public finances. This panel session brings together six unique perspectives on the utility sector’s exposure to the inevitable economic down-cycle and how the sector must act now to ensure that it is the master of change rather than its victim.

Chair

Paul Hasler, GWI

Speakers

Bill Teichmiller, EJ Water Cooperative

John Hallacy, The Bond Buyer

Ryan M. Connors, Boenning & Scattergood

Robert Powelson, NAWC

Daphne Kenyon, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy

Brian Thomas, Delta Conveyance Finance Authority

CTO Panel

Innovative thinking is required in order to ensure the American water sector gets the technology solutions that it needs for the next five years. Too many new technologies suffer from a lack of market relevance or from a prolonged commercialization process. A group of the most influential chief technology officers in the water sector come together to discuss the innovative approaches required to create better harmony between technology offerings and end-users’ needs.

Chair

Charlie Walker, GWI

Speakers

Jay Iyengar, Xylem

Karen Golmer, MIT Deshpande Center for Technological Innovation

Sebastien Bessenet, Veolia Water Technologies

Cindy Paulson, Brown and Caldwell

Ting Lu, Clean Water Services

Inducting New LUOW Members

The Leading Utilities of the World is a global network of the world’s most successful and innovative water and wastewater utilities. Since the initiative’s launch in 2017, 32 Gold Standard utilities have been inaugurated, and now four new nominees will present their outstanding innovations and 5-year plans to be inducted into the network.

Advisory Board

Howard Neukrug, Global Water Leaders Group and Leading Utilities of the World

Biju George, DC Water

Sue Murphy, Water Corporation, Australia

Martin Adams, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power

Speakers

Jim Lochhead, Denver Water

Karen Pallansch, Alexandria Renew

Paula Kehoe, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC)

Claire Sharp, Northumbrian Water, UK

Foundation Partner:

An initiative of:

3:00-3:30

One-2-One Networking & Coffee Break

The One-2-One Networking Sessions are designed to secure valuable face time with any registered delegate.

One-2-One Networking provides an intimate setting for you to shake hands and strike pivotal deals.

3:30-5:00

Session Strands

Creating the Future of Finance

What does a sustainable financial model look like for the American water sector, and how do we bring it about? It is not enough to talk about the value of water: some hard decisions need to be taken in order to make the slogan a reality, because no one wants to foot the bill. Here we invite representatives of the federal government, local government and the private sector to outline their vision and the way they expect to see it delivered.

Chair

Adam Krantz, NACWA

Speakers

Jill Jamieson, JLL

Michael Patella, EPA

Edward Fanter, Deloitte

Disque Deane, Water Asset Management

Christopher McLean, Rural Utilities Services, USDA

Nicolette Bateson, Great Lakes Water Authority

America’s Toughest Wastewater Challenges

What is the biggest pain point for industrial water users? For most of them it is the problem of managing their wastewater streams to meet the often conflicting requirements of regulation, stewardship commitments and corporate budgets. Here we invite some of those facing the greatest challenges to explain the solutions they have developed and how water technology companies could make their lives easier.

Chair

Jon Freedman, Suez Water Technologies & Solutions

Speakers

Michael Misstishin, D.G. Yuengling & Son, Inc.

Francis McAllister, Freeport-McMoRan

Bill Kennedy, Duke Energy

Lori Traweek, Gulf Coast Authority

Leadership Roundtables

What makes the ‘Leading Utilities of the World’ innovation network different is the development of a truly innovative culture within and across utilities. In this session, the speakers from the first innovation session will receive prepared and structured feedback on their presentations from the Advisory Board of the ‘Leading Utilities of the World’ innovation network. Attend this session to join with the leaders of the world’s most innovative utilities at roundtables, and hear their insights on how the water sector can progress to an even higher level of performance, both as individual organizations and through collaboration.

Advisory Board

Howard Neukrug, Global Water Leaders Group and Leading Utilities of the World

Biju George, DC Water

Sue Murphy, Water Corporation, Australia

Martin Adams, Los Angeles Department of Water and Power

Speakers

Jim Lochhead, Denver Water

Karen Pallansch, Alexandria Renew

Harlan Kelly, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission

Claire Sharp, Northumbrian Water, UK

Foundation Partner:

An initiative of:

5:00-5:30

One-2-One Networking & Coffee Break

The One-2-One Networking Sessions are designed to secure valuable face time with any registered delegate.

One-2-One Networking provides an intimate setting for you to shake hands and strike pivotal deals.

5:30-6:30

Cocktail Hour

6:45-10:00

Gala Dinner

Guest Speaker

Edward Burtynsky, Ed Burtynsky Photography

“I wanted to understand water: what it is, and what it leaves behind when we’re gone. I wanted to understand our use and misuse of it. I wanted to trace the evidence of global thirst and threatened sources. Water is part of a pattern I’ve watched unfold throughout my career. I document landscapes that, whether you think of them as beautiful or monstrous, or as some strange combination of the two, are clearly not vistas of an inexhaustible, sustainable world.” – Edward Burtynsky, www.edwardburtynsky.com

Visit Edward Burtynsky’s gallery on the theme of “Water”.