What do YOU think of Natural Infrastructure?
Do you think of natural infrastructure at all? How well do you understand the concept? Is your utility doing anything in this area? What are the challenges you face? These are the simple questions we are asking Canadian water leaders in our latest national survey.
CWWA released the survey January 24th and distributed it to everyone on our contact list. So if you get this e-Bulletin, you got the survey…along with my plea for someone in your utility to complete it!
The survey was developed by our Utility Leadership Committee as a first step toward addressing this great opportunity called ‘natural infrastructure’. It’s not a ‘new’ concept per se, but it is gaining renewed interest, and investment, as we all seek to find sustainable solutions to our changing climate. As a logical first step, the committee just wants to how well the concept is understood and being adopted in the Canadian water sector. The key questions ask you to share any that are projects underway in your community, and if not, why not.
Once the results are collected and analyzed, the committee will share a summary report by this summer. More importantly, the survey will help guide the next steps for how CWWA can best serve its members. There is a LOT of written material already out there – and we do not want to reinvent anything that is already there. So what might CWWA be able to do to support our sector concerning the adoption of natural infrastructure solutions?
We’ve asked everyone to try to respond by the end of February. If you are not the best-suited person to complete the survey, please engage the right person in your organization.
Just in case you missed the e-mail blast with the survey, you can get to it by clicking here:
Survey on the Adoption of Natural Infrastructure in the Water Sector (surveymonkey.com)
The National Conference in Niagara!
We’ve put out the call for presentation ideas for the program, and I am working on a couple of new themes as well. Registration will open soon, but for now, be sure to lock in the dates for November 12-15 to gather in Niagara Falls with Canada’s water leaders.
I just came back from an advance trip to the Falls – to confirm the hotel layout and to select a site for the Conference Celebration Night. There are a few really exciting locations to choose from, but I promise, there will be room for EVERYONE and it will be a memorable experience.