Greg Kail has directed communications for the American Water Works Association since 2003. He came to AWWA after 14 years in communications and journalism in Colorado.
There’s no better way to grasp the importance and breadth of what water professionals accomplish than to step onto the exposition floor at the American Water Works Association’s Annual and Conference & Exposition (ACE).
I first experienced it in 2004 as AWWA’s new communications director, the same year AWWA published its first State of the Water Industry Report. There were forklifts beeping, lanyards swinging and tote bags toting. People from all over the world were greeting one another as old friends and introducing new colleagues. All the weighty issues identified in the State of the Water Industry Report were represented in the professional program and exhibit hall, and these people were game to tackle them.
Nearly two decades later – and following a two-year pause due to the pandemic – ACE22 returns to a face-to-face format June 12 to 15 in San Antonio. As I write this, the 2022 State of the Water Industry Report is coming together for the 19th consecutive year, and all of today’s issues are well covered through 16 tracks and upwards of 80 in-person sessions at ACE22. Twenty-six sessions will also be streamed online, but count me among those who are ready to see people outside their computer screens again.
This year’s State of the Water Industry Report captured feedback from 3,778 North American utility and non-utility water professionals who were surveyed between October and December 2021. While the final report was still being completed, it is clear the pandemic has left a mark, notably in overall optimism, in supply chain issues, and perhaps most obviously in the area of workforce concerns.
The top four issues facing the water sector identified are: renewal and replacement of aging water infrastructure; financing for capital improvements; long-term drinking water supply availability; and aging workforce/anticipated retirement. While infrastructure concerns continue to occupy the first two spots, as has been the case throughout the history of the report, it is notable that the U.S. Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act was passed after many had already submitted responses. The injection of more than $50 billion into water and wastewater systems may improve the sector’s outlook somewhat.
Regardless, infrastructure approaches and financing will be covered at ACE22 through tracks focused on asset management, capital improvement projects, utility management and leadership and more. The exposition floor, which includes more than 350 booths, will be full of solutions for infrastructure challenges.
Long-term drinking water supply availability is also a long-standing concern, and the drought and wildfire conditions of the past year likely impacted responses. ACE22 has full tracks on climate resilience and water conservation to address those concerns, and the Opening General Session features NASA scientist Dr. Thomas Zurbuchen, whose team discovered water on Mars (should we have to go that route).
But the big eye-catcher for me is the concern about aging workforce/anticipated retirements. That issue rose from 11th in the ranking last year to fourth in 2022, as water organizations across North America feel the impacts of the “Great Resignation” and compete for new talent. Sessions on The Future of the Utility Workforce, Retrofitting the Water Workforce Pipeline and Making Diversity and Inclusion Real are among many ACE22 opportunities to examine these issues.
It is noteworthy that at ACE22 AWWA is launching its multi-year Water 2050 initiative, which seeks to envision the future of water and chart a course for water community sustainability and success. The many young professionals cultivating their careers at ACE22 will be the ones finding solutions to the challenges identified in the 2022 State of the Water Industry Report.
After two years behind computer screens, it will be good to watch their brilliance unfold in person in San Antonio.
