City of New Brighton Ph: 651-755-0689 eric.volk@newbrightonmn.gov
Disclaimer
The ideas, opinions, concepts, procedures, etc. expressed in this publication are those of the individual authors and not necessarily those of the MNAWWA section, its officers, general membership, or the editor. The mention of trade names for commercial products does not represent or mply the approval or endorsement of AWWA. This magazine is presented solely for nformational purposes
Matthew (Mattie) Croaston matthew.croaston@minneapolismn.gov
Building Trust and Communicating the Value of Water
It’s only been just over a month since we had the opportunity to gather in Duluth, but it seems like so much has already happened.
As I mentioned on Thursday night at the conference this is a challenging time for our industry. Aging infrastructure, contaminants of emerging concern, funding limitations, pressure to keep rates low, and workforce development are just a few of the issues our profession is facing. My greatest takeaway from the conference is once again that we are all surrounded by dedicated and skilled professionals with a genuine commitment to providing high-quality services to the public. I’m sure of it and I’m certain you are too.
While we understand this, the public is not always aware of what goes into providing safe and affordable water. To be able to address challenges surrounding funding, and the importance of asset renewal – among others – we need to clearly communicate our story. How we treat and deliver our communities’ drinking water and why long-term investments are crucial for being able to continue those services for future generations as a part of protecting public
health, are foundational messages that every customer should understand. Complicated topics like source water protection and corrosion control can be communicated in relatable ways highlighting the collaboration of water suppliers, regulatory agencies, nonprofit organizations, schools, and community partners to deliver safe, affordable, great tasting tap water.
Working with partners plays an important role in communicating the value of water. These partnerships help clarify the work that we do and generate advocates across sectors, building trust outside of our industry. Trust requires consistency and accountability. Consistent communication and reliable services, including responses to disruptions in service, are things that the public remembers. When the public sees what goes into providing services, they begin to value the importance of them and credibility grows. Even during difficult situations, honest and empathetic communication reinforces confidence that services are being provided in a professional manner. It’s you as professionals, providing valuable
Scott Anderson
services to the public who take pride in the work. Demonstrating this expertise in ways that everyone can understand and helping to remind customers that the water they rely on daily comes from skilled and knowledgeable people who care.
As we face these and other challenges, it is vital that we effectively communicate the issues, needs, and solutions effectively to a vast audience. Building and maintaining this trust requires on-going and sustained effort based on openness and the desire to serve the public. In the end, successfully building trust within communities means helping people understand that water is more than a utility or a service, but an investment in future generations. This investment supports public health, the environment, and quality of life for the public good.
Please consider becoming more involved with your Section by reaching out to a Board member, Section staff, or any one of the many committee volunteers. Thank you all for the work that you continue to do and I’m looking forward to a successful year with the Minnesota Section of AWWA! •
“My greatest takeaway from the conference is once again that we are all surrounded by dedicated and skilled professionals with a genuine commitment to providing high-quality services to the public.”
Let’s Build on This! Annual Conference Boasts Record Attendance
We had a record turnout in Duluth for our annual conference. Our section is growing positively and more diversely, with many new young professionals and considerably more women. We are positively moving away from the ‘Good Old Boy’ organization, and I’m incredibly proud of this.
I was able to host two visiting officers who traveled from the East Coast to join us at the Annual Conference. They shared updates from the national organization and learned more about our section and our annual conference routine. I thank both Kevin Smith and Mark Theiler for taking time out of their busy schedules to join us to share National Updates and State Section trends across the Country. Kevin and I had a great fishing day out on Lake Superior during the Tuesday activities.
Our section’s MAC did another outstanding job hosting and running all the competitions. Congratulations to all the winners and participants. We are lucky to have so many dedicated professionals donate their time and effort to run these so smoothly every year. I would like to give special thanks to Mona Cavalcoli and Liz Whelan for planning, organizing, and running the Conference again. We have
Tony Belden
“Congratulations to all the Award winners – if you know someone deserving of one of these awards, please nominate them using our easy online nomination form – you can nominate someone anytime from now through mid-July!”
two very talented Administrative Managers making it all happen, all year long. Hats off to all our committees and their efforts surrounding our organization, with a special shoutout to the Conference Committee. Congratulations to our newly elected officers. We have a very talented group coming in to serve our Section.
Congratulations to all the Award winners – if you know someone deserving of one of these awards, please nominate them using our easy online nomination form – you can nominate someone anytime from now through mid-July!
In early 2026, I will be attending National’s Winter Board Meeting in Vancouver, Canada, from January 29–31, along with this year’s Director-Elect, Doug Klamerus. Doug will officially take the reins in June at the ACE Conference where we will both attend, as my term will come to a conclusion.
Next year’s RMSO will be held in Indianapolis from April 27–29. I encourage all new officers and Committee Chairs to attend.
You will be glad you did!
Best to all as we enjoy the holiday season. May it be a good season for family relationships and celebrations. •
Engage Young Minds, Encourage Future Water Professionals!
In October, I got to meet former SNL actress Kate McKinnon during a book signing. She was on tour, promoting the second installment in her ‘Millicent Quibb’ series. If you haven’t heard, Ms. McKinnon authored The Millicent Quibb School of Etiquette for Young Ladies of Mad Science , which was published in 2024; and she has just released the second book in the series ‘ Secrets of the Purple Pearl .’ The books are aimed at middle school aged children (ages 9-12), but I found myself enjoying and laughing at the adventures of the Porch Sisters (Gertrude, Eugenia, and Dee-Dee) and their adventures and experiences.
As we head into January and February, we’ll start to see promotion of Engineer’s Week, and Future City competitions, all of which celebrate opportunities for young learners to explore the world of STEM: Science Technology Engineering and Math.
Workforce strategies represent a critical element of management in the water industry. Workforce strategies include building resources to help attract, recruit, train, and retain talented and skilled employees and best practices for succession planning. AWWA has several platforms and initiatives to address workforce, including the Transformative Water Leadership Academy (TWLA), a collaboration between AWWA and the WaterNow Alliance.
This program, started three years ago, is where the next generation of water utility leaders focus on the foundations of sustainable community leadership: how to integrate social, environmental, and financial concerns into important decisions about water utilities. The ten-month program addresses leadership for drinking water, wastewater, stormwater management, and water reuse. Participants learn to balance short- and long-term priorities while creating value for all water stakeholders. AWWA New Jersey is proud to have several graduates of TWLA, including Mark Theiler, Skylar Reed, Kevin Rodier, Mark Whittaker, and Chelsea Kulp. We expect more of our young professionals to take part in this opportunity and we look forward to celebrating their accomplishments.
“From engineers and operators to accountants and information technology; from customer service to service crews to safety and security. We need growth in our workforce and encouraging involvement in STEM education is one of the best ways to engage young minds.”
But going back to Millicent Quibb, it’s critical to interest younger learners too, so that they may begin choosing a path that may lead them to water through interest in science and math, and even subjects like health! I want to stop and give a shout out to the New York Section AWWA, that recently launched a ‘NY Kids Imagine a Day Without Water’ project, and to the San Antonio, TX Water System, who turned a real-life puppy rescue into a communications and teaching opportunity by writing a children’s book called Pipa’s Big Adventure, chronicling the rescue of the puppy and teaching its readers about the dangers of flushing things like grease, food, and wipes. These creative initiatives are successful steps in the direction we need to take!
Workforce Issues rank among the top concerns in the water industry right now, and we continue to face the need to encourage careers in water. From engineers and operators to accountants and information technology; from customer service to service crews to safety and security. We need growth in our workforce and encouraging involvement in STEM education is one of the best ways to engage young minds. And there’s nothing wrong with a little mad science along the way. •
Mona Cavalcoli
Mark Your Calendars for 2026 Spring Operator Schools!
March 10–12, 2026
Southeast District Operator School
Rochester International Event Center
Contact Josh Prokopec, joshua.prokopec@ owatonnautilities.com, for more information.
Exam: 8:30 am on March 12 (deadline for exam application February 27)
April 14–16, 2026
Northeast Water Operators School
Timberlake Lodge, Grand Rapids
Contact Steve Mattson, srmattson@ grpuc.org, for more information.
Exam: 8:30 am on April 16 (deadline for exam application April 1)
April 28–30, 2026
Metro Water Operators School
Eagan Community Center
Contact Brent Massmann, bmassmann@ american-usa.com, for more information.
Exam: 8:30 am on April 30 (deadline for exam application April 15)
Plus:
Water Utility Treatment & Technology
The Water Utility Treatment & Technology (WUTT) program is held at St. Paul College. WUTT consists of a series of non-credit modules designed to fill a need for recruitment and education for employees for water systems. Students who complete the modules will be able to get water operator licenses and jobs with water utilities.
St. Paul College Workforce Training & Continuing Education: Water Utility Treatment & Technology. •
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ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2025 ANNUAL CONFERENCE GALLERY
Our annual conference was held in Duluth, September 16–19. Enjoy a gallery of our members enjoying their chance to learn and network with fellow Minnesota water professionals!
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Congratulations to our 2025 Award Recipients
Each year, MN AWWA recognizes individuals that have excelled as volunteers, water professionals, and AWWA Members. We all know people who stand out, who exceed expectations, who go the extra mile. And there’s nothing wrong with feeling good when your efforts are recognized. It’s important that we appreciate and celebrate the accomplishments of our peers. It brings us together and creates a positive energy that drives us to do more.
MN AWWA has an active awards and recognition program with presentation of the awards happening during the Annual Conference in Duluth. Here’s a look at who we honored in 2025:
George Warren Fuller Award:
This award is given by AWWA each year to a member of the association, selected the preceding year by and from each Section, for his or her distinguished service in the water supply field and in commemoration of the sound engineering skill and the constructive leadership of a person in the Association who characterized the life of George Warren Fuller – one of America’s most eminent engineers.
2025 Recipient: Eric Volk
Leonard M. Thompson Award:
Mr. Thompson started his career with the St. Paul Water Utility on August 1, 1912 and continued working until June 1, 1964. This award is made annually to a Minnesota Section member who typifies the standards that were emblematic of Mr. Thompson’s contributions to the Section and the water supply industry.
2025 Recipient: Tony Belden
Operator Meritorious Service Award:
The Meritorious Operator Award is presented annually by the Minnesota Section AWWA to an Operator who has brought a higher degree of excellence, learning, initiative and resourcefulness to bear in the operation of a public water supply system.
2025 Recipient: Jillian Pauls
Jon Eaton Excellence in Volunteering Award:
The purpose of the Jon Eaton Excellence in Volunteering Award is to honor a Volunteer Leader whose dedicated leadership has led to significant achievements through volunteer activities within Minnesota Section AWWA. This award is given to someone that has served in a leadership role of a volunteer program that has benefitted AWWA.
2025 Recipient: Brett Anderson
Next Generation Award:
The Next Generation Award is intended to recognize the contributions of members whose service and achievements are exceptional for their years of experience. A young professional is defined as someone who is less than 35 years old. The award is given annually to recognize talented individuals that are dedicated to professional careers in the water and wastewater community.
2025 Recipient: Rochelle Widmer
Ben Mason Award:
An individual award of excellence to a Section Service Provider Member (SVP) who has demonstrated exemplary service to the drinking water community and to AWWA’s mission and goals.
An AWWA Section has the opportunity to further recognize this individual’s achievements by submitting the Section winner as a candidate for the Association’s John Lechner Award of Excellence.
2025 Recipient: Kathryn (Kabby) Jones •
“It’s important that we appreciate and celebrate the accomplishments of our peers. It brings us together and creates a positive energy that drives us to do more.”
THE NINE VILLAINS OF CYBERSECURITY
Part one in a two-part series about cybersecurity
by Brian Gongol, M.Sc., M.Ed., Managing Instructor at Prudential Cyber
A prudent approach to protecting our well-connected water infrastructure begins with being alert to who our enemies are.
There is a popular myth that the typical hacker – one of the bad ones – is just a disgruntled adolescent or young adult living in his mom’s basement. It’s a myth so deeply embedded in the culture that even cybersecurity textbooks often use a shadowy figure wearing a hoodie to stand in as an icon for the ‘bad guys,’ just like the black cowboy hat once identified the villain in a Western.
The real cybersecurity ‘enemies list’ is much more complex than that, and oversimplifying it doesn’t do us any favors. The villains are constantly out to take us by surprise. Surprise is one of their most important offensive weapons.
Water and wastewater service is special in that our sector daily means the difference between life and death. That’s as vital as it can get. But that also means that we have to be on guard more than anyone else against anything that threatens our continuity of operations. No sector is more essential.
Our best hope against the cyberattacks heading our way is to degrade the element of surprise. A prudent approach to protecting our well-connected water infrastructure begins with being alert to who our enemies are. There are at least nine different forms they can take, and we can distinguish among them by asking five questions:
1. What motivates them?
2. What are they targeting inside your networks?
3. What could they cost you?
4. How would you know if you were under attack?
5. What are the first steps you must take to protect yourself?
Let’s meet your opponents.
THE NINE VILLAINS OF CYBERSECURITY
1. SCRIPT KIDDIES
These are the villains closest to the stereotype of the basementdwelling misanthrope. They know a few things about computers, and they want to mess with things out of boredom, a desire to sharpen their skills, or to show off to their friends. They’re looking for easy wins: things like unpatched vulnerabilities on your systems or unprotected computers they can turn into bots.
What could they cost you? At the low end, some loss of face if they manage to deface your website. At the higher end, they can leave you with significant network cleanup costs if they manage to compromise a cluster of your machines.
Script kiddies sometimes make themselves known by defacing websites or social media accounts. Other times, they’ll lurk and use up your bandwidth or computer processing power to carry out pranks or mine for cryptocurrency.
Your first step towards self-defense is to follow a routine for installing program patches and upgrades. Make someone accountable! Don’t just assume that they will download automatically. Is it a job for an IT department? Maybe…if you even have one. Or maybe it’s a job for an administrator. Or maybe even for your maintenance team. The key is to make sure that the job is clearly designated as someone’s responsibility, and that real accountability follows the assignment.
2. HOSTILE FOREIGN GOVERNMENTS
It’s begun to creep into public attention that governments are willing to use cyberwarfare as a tool to get what they want, whether it’s to gain diplomatic leverage, to steal money, or to commit bloodless warfare against their opponents. The United States has plenty of enemies out there, and they know that utilities are a vulnerability.
What are they targeting in your system? A variety of things, but mostly weaponizable tools (things they can shut down), customer data (things they can hold for ransom), or backdoors they can use to gain long-term access to your networks without you noticing (in the cybersecurity realm, we call this an ‘Advanced Persistent Threat’).
In the worst-case scenario, these attackers could cause a complete loss of control over your networked operations. This is the foreign-originated threat scenario that people recognize most, and it’s already happened – see, for instance, how Russia attacked Ukraine’s electrical grid.
Unfortunately, you often won’t even know you’re under attack until the damage has been done and something has gone horribly wrong –like losing control of everything that connects to your SCADA system. The whole point of something like the advanced persistent threat is for the villain to go undetected until conflict breaks out.
Many of these threats use human weaknesses to break through, so the first step to protecting yourself is to establish and follow through on training and policies for the weaknesses in your defenses, especially from what we know as ‘social engineering’ attacks.
Social engineering is the use of psychological tricks to get people to let down their guard, and we’re all susceptible to it. Think of it as hacking people rather than hacking computers. Social engineering looks like spearphishing (emails that target individuals inside your system who have access to valuable things like passwords) and ‘discovered’ files and media left behind in the hope you’ll plug them in (do you know what to do if you find an unlabeled USB thumb drive sitting on a desk?). There is practically no end to the need for ongoing training to protect your team against social engineering attacks.
3. DISGRUNTLED EX-EMPLOYEES
Everyone knows that it’s important to treat co-workers with respect and dignity. But there are times when people leave a workplace under a cloud, either because of their own behavior or because something happened externally that left them in a bad spot. Even a totally no-fault layoff can still sting.
When someone leaves a role for involuntary reasons, there’s always a chance they could want a little retaliation. And an ex-employee is in a very good position to know what (virtual) buttons to press that could leave a serious bruise on a utility’s operations, either punishing the operation internally or causing harm to its reputation.
Ex-employees probably know more about your systems than anyone but the current employees they leave behind, and an entire utility
THE NINE VILLAINS OF CYBERSECURITY
operation could be compromised by someone with the right combination of means, motive, and opportunity. There have already been headlinegrabbing examples of people accessing control systems at water utilities after having been let go, including at least one example of a contractor who resigned and later remotely accessed the system at a water treatment plant to disable its controls..
These kinds of attackers are hard to catch, precisely because they may have been the ones who installed your cybersecurity protections in the first place. Keep an eye out for unexplained changes in control settings and logins that don’t match people’s job assignments. And keep some paper records of your most important settings!
Disciplined use of access controls (like giving every individual a separate username and password for everything they do) is a basic first step towards protecting your system, as is assigning administrative privileges only to the people who absolutely need them. And, for your own sake, treat people with dignity when they leave!
4. VANDALS
Vandals have had the same basic motivations for centuries: boredom and antisocial tendencies. Why, after all, do people carve messages in bathroom stalls?
Utilities are targets for vandalism, too, especially of the cyber variety. These vandals are looking for whatever is easiest to find and deface, especially websites and social media accounts. Think of it as digital spray paint. And, as with real spray paint, the costs come down to the basics of cleanup (a costly nuisance) and potential reputational harm. If you let vandalism go on long enough, you risk looking careless or incompetent – not a good look for a public utility tasked with maintaining public trust.
Keep a close eye on your public-facing digital property, looking out for unauthorized changes to websites and social media accounts. Many of them allow you to set an alert for every time a change is made, and someone in the leadership of every utility needs to be watching.
You can also protect yourself by implementing multi-factor authentication on those public-facing accounts, which requires someone to respond with a challenge code or similar proof before allowing them to make changes to tools like your Facebook page. It’s also very important to make sure you’re using individual credentials to access those accounts, so you can trace straight to the person behind every change. Shared usernames and passwords are a giant invitation to trouble.
5. TERRORISTS
Hollywood has been making movies about terrorist attacks on infrastructure since Sean Connery made his debut as James Bond. The target hasn’t changed, only the means. Terrorists are of course motivated by politics, financial gain, and bloodlust, but also by the attraction of asymmetric warfare: That is, causing high-impact events at relatively little cost. That’s why some terrorist groups even become involved as proxies for hostile foreign governments (see Villain #2 above).
Unfortunately, utilities offer a wealth of potential targets, though we should pay especially close attention to our control systems. Terrorism depends upon attention, so the more consequential the disruption, the higher the profile of the attack and thus the more attractive to the bad guys. If you lose control over networked systems, leading, for example, to the failure of a water distribution system or a breakdown of your wastewater lift stations, the public would feel the consequences almost immediately. That’s the ‘essential’ part of being ‘essential workers.
While there are detection tools and practices you can follow to become aware of an attack (careful surveillance of your server logs, for example), there’s a fair chance you wouldn’t know until you either started hearing the alarms or got a call from an agency like the FBI or CISA. Still, the more steps you take to defend against the full spectrum of possible attackers, the better your chances of avoiding trouble.
Being aware of potential threats is an important defensive practice, and it’s an ongoing task. There are also prudent steps you can take to defend your networks, like activating firewalls and segregating your networks. Network segregation is especially important, so that if someone breaks into your website server, they can’t access customer payment data, or if they crack into your WWTP SCADA system, they can’t hop over to your potable water distribution system. And, for goodness’ sake, replace the default passwords on any devices (computers, PLCs, HMIs, smartphones, and anything else) that you connect to your networks. If someone can look up a default password in an O&M manual somewhere, it’s basically useless for protecting you.
So far, we have encountered enough cybersecurity villains to keep you on your toes for a long time to come. Yet there are still four other foes we need to profile, including mobsters and lone wolves. We will identify them in the next installment (and hope that a tenth doesn’t emerge while we’re waiting). In the meantime, to borrow a line from the classic cop show, ‘Hill Street Blues,’ let’s be careful out there.
Brian Gongol can be reached at mail@prudentialcyber.com. •
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Building Public Trust Through the Tale of a Rescue Puppy
Source: AWWA Connections
When a puppy was rescued from a San Antonio sewer main in 2023, it was instantly a heart-warming news story. The water utility, together with the fire department, spent more than eight hours coaxing the little pup out. Rescuers had to use a brightly lit robotic camera (usually used to identify sewer blockages) to push the pup some 200 feet to a manhole, where workers could lift her out.
That’s where many of these kinds of stories end, but not for San Antonio Water System.
Not only did Anne Hayden, director of the communications team, adopt the puppy the very next day, she also had an idea. Anne came into my office and said, “I think there’s a bigger opportunity here,” recalls Gavino Ramos, senior vice president of communications and external affairs.
That’s how the idea of a children’s book was born.
Pipa’s Big Adventure chronicles the rescue of a puppy from a sewer line, while educating readers about the dangers of flushing things like grease and wipes.
“The best part? They tell their parents all about Pipa’s promise to keep non-flushables out of pipes.”
“I’m the parent of two kids, so I know when my kids would come home from school and start telling us what we should and shouldn’t do,” Ramos said and laughed. “Being able to create this young group of advocates – it’s worth its weight in gold.”
Pipa’s Big Adventure chronicles the rescue of a puppy from a sewer line, while educating readers about the dangers of flushing things like grease and wipes.
Pipa’s Big Adventure chronicles the rescue and uses the opportunity to teach its readers about the dangers of flushing things like grease, food, and wipes. “What’s all this stinky stuff?” Pipa asks in the book. As a robot guides Pipa around these things, the pup commits to making sure everyone knows about the dangers of non-flushable items.
The illustrated book, created in conjunction with the utility’s education team and creative agency, includes photographs from the real rescue in its final pages. It was published earlier this year and is already used in classrooms across San Antonio’s 16 independent school districts, as well as at community events and book readings. The utility has done readings at Barnes & Noble and independent bookstores in the area, sometimes with up to 40 kids.
“It’s created a life of its own,” Ramos said, noting the kids’ excitement when they learn the book is based on a true story.
“The children really buy into it. They start asking, ‘Well, why do people flush that? And why shouldn’t they?’” Ramos said.
The utility has also incorporated Pipa into its Careers on Wheels program, where crews visit schools to talk about career opportunities in the water sector. Teens are often interested to learn more about the robotic device used to guide her out. “There are so many different careers in water,” Ramos said.
The water system’s fleet of sewer combos and vans are all being wrapped to feature Pipa and her message about keeping grease and wipes out of sewer lines.
Proceeds from Pipa’s Adventure book sales support Project Agua, which helps residents pay bills, and the local animal shelter that initially took care of Pipa. Each book includes both English and Spanish text.
Ultimately, Ramos credits the team – from the CEO, who ensured crews were on site to facilitate the rescue, to his communications colleagues, “who are not only good at what they do, but also passionate about what they do” – for turning the rescue into a relatable, educational, and heartwarming campaign.
“There may be people who say, ‘This isn’t what you should be doing,’ because we’re water and wastewater. But it’s teaching the kids – and teaching in in a way that people want to learn,” Ramos said. “I’ve been blessed to have a team like we do.
Everybody gets it.” •
Photo courtesy of San Antonio Water System
Building Leadership Durability in Changing Times
By: Jennifer Persike
Source: AWWA Connections
In an era defined by constant disruption, leadership durability has emerged as the defining pillar of successful public and private organizations. Whether you are advancing complex policies or building infrastructure, everything in water takes time –sometimes decades.
The key ingredient to ensure agencies reach the finish line is durable leadership. Durable leaders have the capacity to endure and sustain effectiveness and commitment over extended periods despite challenges or pressures that may arise.
While the water industry has historically benefitted from career longevity among leaders and other key team members, workforce trends indicate that time in roles and agencies are shrinking. As experienced workers walk out the door, so does the knowledge that provides stability in tough times.
Building leadership durability is an intentional effort that involves attention to the following key aspects of your agency:
Set a shared vision. Working with both the board of directors and team, leaders must craft a vision, supported by a clear mission and core values, that sets the direction for the agency.
Foster a values-driven culture. Core values define who you are as an agency. Rely on those values to guide your organization and its decisions.
Embrace adaptability and innovation. The ability to quickly adapt to changing circumstances and to embrace new ideas and technology are no longer secondary but essential for survival.
Build accountability and trust. Lead by example and demonstrate consistent ethical conduct in all decisions and actions. Prioritize transparency by communicating clearly with the team and the public about agency performance and challenges.
Invest in your team. People are your greatest asset. Understand your team’s strengths and invest in their development. Encourage collaboration and engagement. Eliminate silos, facilitate regular cross-departmental communication, and create opportunities for all voices both internal and external to contribute meaningfully to agency outcomes.
Strengthen succession planning. Identify, mentor, and prepare middle managers as future leaders to ensure organizational continuity as experienced personnel transition out.
Modernize recruitment and retention. Update workforce practices to attract the next generation by leveraging new technologies, offering flexible work options, and emphasizing professional development and inclusive culture. Strive to become best employer in your service area.
In a time when disruption is constant and progress in the water sector is measured in decades, leadership durability has become crucial for organizational stability and success. Building this leadership requires a purposeful focus on creating a shared vision, creating an open and honest culture, and investing in current and future team leaders and members. Together, this will ensure agencies remain effective and resilient amid mounting external pressures and internal transitions.
Jennifer Persike, president/founder of Jennifer Persike & Company, is an innovative strategist and visionary leader with more than 30 years of experience with California water and energy utilities, statewide associations, non-profits and corporations. •
AWWA Government Affairs Overview
AWWA advocates in furtherance of its 501(c)(3) mission on key federal, regulatory, legislative, and policy priorities. AWWA supports positive change by helping elected leaders, regulators and other stakeholders make informed decisions about water management, quality and security. AWWA’s engagement leads to public policy that keeps consumers safe and water affordable and reliable.
Today, more than a century later the Water Utility Council is “the voice of water” on water policy.
AWWA delivers sector’s knowledge and expertise to inform national decision makers and through AWWA’s sections to state capitals.
AWWA’s quarterly Government Affairs Overview describes many aspects of the world of water in Washington, DC and beyond, and contains information about the following topics and more.
• Safe Drinking Water Act
• Clean Water Act
• Emergency Planning and Community Right-to Know Act
• Toxic Substance Control Act
SO,
WHAT’S NEW?
Since the last Overview of Regulatory Activity update (June 2025), the following noteworthy activities took place and are now reflected in AWWA’s Fall 2025 Government Affairs Overview.
Major Legislative Developments
• The federal government shut down on October 1 after Congress failed to agree on spending bills.
• H.R. 4733, the Low-Income Household Water Assistance Program Establishment Act was introduced in the 119th Congress.
• The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) was signed into law.
Major Regulatory Developments
• Department of Justice file a motion for partial vacatur of the Drinking Water PFAS rule.
• Parties to the judicial review of the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements submitted a briefing schedule which the court approved. AWWA filed its opening brief.
• DOJ informed the DC Circuit Court of Appeals that the agency would be retaining the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) hazardous substance designation for PFOA and PFOS.
Federal
Policy Developments
• The White House released the final Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) report and strategy. •
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In the Eye of the Beholder: Asking the Public About Their Water
Source: AWWA Press Release
Consumers place the most trust in water utilities and scientists to provide them with information about their tap water compared to other entities, according to a survey conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of the American Water Works Association (AWWA).
The May 2024 poll, called “Public Perceptions of Tap Water,” included responses from 2,010 adults served by water utilities in the United States.
Seventy percent of respondents said they trust their water utilities “a lot” or “some” for information about their water, with scientists close behind at 68%. Local governments (59%), state governments (57%), and environmental groups (57%) rounded out the top five most trusted groups. Trust in utilities was higher among White respondents (76%) than Hispanic respondents (73%) and Black respondents (65%).
Water affordability continues to be a big concern among the annual survey’s respondents. More than one in three (34%) report that they struggle to pay water bills on time. Of those who report struggling to pay their water bills, 83% would support a federal assistance program. Nearly 77% of respondents overall would support such a program.
“High quality drinking water is critical for all communities,” said David LaFrance, AWWA CEO. “It is clear that affordability is a growing concern for many people and that a federal assistance program to aid in paying water bills for vulnerable households would be supported by those in need. They also view water as no less essential than food and energy, both of which are supported by federal programs.”
As in previous surveys, patterns emerged in water quality ratings based on the race, income and gender of respondents. Nearly three in four survey respondents (72%) view the water in their home as safe, but both Black and Hispanic respondents rated their water quality lower than White respondents. Those who did not struggle to pay their water bills rated water quality 10 points higher than those who struggled to pay. Male respondents rated water quality 11% higher than female respondents.
Once again, recalling communication from water utilities other than a bill was associated with more positive perceptions of tap water. Respondents who remembered receiving recent communication from water utilities were three times more likely to say the safety of their water supply has gotten better over the past five years.
“It is so important that our communities understand how water is managed, treated, tested and delivered,” said former AWWA President Cheryl Porter. “The simple act of talking about what goes into delivering safe and affordable water can have a big impact on how people perceive water quality, regardless of their ethnicity or income.
“Still, the best way to build trust with our communities and increase confidence in our water is to dedicate ourselves every day to providing safe, reliable service,” she added.
This poll was conducted between May 1-7, 2024, and it reflects a sample of 2,010 adults receiving water from a public water supply. The interviews were conducted online. Results from the full survey have a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points. •
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