| letter from the texas section chair |
Success! TAWWA is Making Waves! Texas Section American Water Works Association P.O. Box 80150 Austin, Texas 78708 www.tawwa.org Amy Middleton, Chair 210-510-0888 Karen Menard, Chair-Elect 817-493-1195 Marisa Vergara, Vice-Chair 210-494-8004 Drew Molly, Imm. Past Chair 361-826-1853 Mike Howe Executive Director/Secretary-Treasurer 512-238-9292 Fax: 512-238-0496 mikehowe@tawwa.org This publication is distributed bi-monthly to the more than 3,500 members and friends of the Texas Section – American Water Works Association. Contributing writers can contact the editor: Elizabeth Rose GCP Association Services, LLC PO Box 676 Pflugerville, TX 78691 512-251-8101 Fax: 512-251-8152 TXh20@tawwa.org The publication name, TexasH2O: © 1996-2023 Texas Section – American Water Works Association, Inc. © 2023 Texas Section – American Water Works Association, Inc.
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BY AMY MIDDLETON texas section chair
I
would like to thank Drew Molly for his dedication to being Chair for the past year and a half, and I will look to his leadership as Past Chair during my year of service. Drew supported two Texas Water events as a Chair, which is not an easy task! With more than 6,700 registrations, Texas WaterTM 2023 was a success with our largest turnout to date! Thank you to the Conference AMY MIDDLETON Co-Chairs, Venus Price and Liz Fazio Hale, 210-510-0888 wonderful Houston volunteers, our Committees amiddleton@plummer.com and Divisions, GCP Association Services, and the Executive Director Mike Howe that put together a great conference. Joseph Jacangelo, president of the American Water Works Association, held an informative breakfast with an invited group that included the local Chapter Presidents in the Section and YPs to discuss the progress of the Water 2050 initiative, which is a collaborative effort led by AWWA to envision the future of water and chart a course for success and sustainability. Congratulations to the award recipients and competition winners. It was a pleasure to attend the awards lunches and watch the Pipe Tapping, Hydrant Hysteria and Meter Challenges. I really enjoyed the Women in Water breakfast and seeing many friends in attendance. Finally, the conference would not be the success it is without the technical presentation and poster presenters and the vendors who put together a great exhibit hall! In March, part of the Executive Board went to Washington, D.C., to participate in the 2023 Water Matters Fly-In. We met with our Senators and Representatives to advocate for the continuation and expansion of source water protection provisions in the upcoming Farm Bill and a coregulatory approach to cybersecurity. Additionally, we asked for support for restoration of the tax advantages for advanced refunding of municipal bonds and a liability exemption for water utilities from CERCLA actions in the case of PFAS contamination, which both have bills introduced to
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