How Partnerships Strengthen Utilities

I hate to say it …summer is coming to an end… but covid seems to be laying low…so it’s time to sit down and book your travel to the National Water & Wastewater Conference!   We haven’t held the NWWC since we last met in Banff, way back in 2019.  So we are well overdue for a great get together.  We promise a really great Kitchen Party too! 

The program is looking really solid with sessions on water quality, wastewater, efficiency, energy, biosolids, climate change, security, and there is more to come.  In addition to the sessions we have posted on the conference website (National Water and Wastewater Conference – Canadian Water and Wastewater Association (cwwa.ca) )  we are still adding another full stream dedicated to utility management. 

The big theme for this stream is utility-academic partnerships.  First we’re going to share stories of productive partnerships like that the wastewater research being done by the City of Calgary with the University of Calgary, or Engineering Leadership development by MetroVancouver with UBC, or the work on watersheds between Halifax Water and Dalhousie…and many more. Then, like a conference within a conference, we’ll spend a day looking at “how” these partnerships work – sharing best practices, do’s and don’ts, funding processes and engagement strategies.

I trust this stream will be of great interest to utility leaders to see the amazing potential of these partnerships, and of great interest to all those already involved.  If you would like to be part of this stream, or you know of a great project we should all hear about, be sure to let me know. 

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As for travel.  I’m on the road again!  IWA’s World Water Congress in Copenhagen in September, then October takes me to ACWWA in Saint John and WEFTEC in New Orleans and finally our big event in Halifax in November.  Be sure to say hello and let me know if you even read this column ever!