Meeting room buzzing as The American Water Summit is about to begin w/ keynote presentation; follow #AWS13 for more!
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 5, 2013
Key question at the conference is embedded in the theme, "Accelerating Change." How do we advance the state of water ASAP? #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 5, 2013
Dennis Wierzbicki, @GrundfosUSA: "We need to be on the winning side & make water work." #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 5, 2013
Rui Affonso of @CiaSabesp, "Metrics for success include productivity (connections per employee), corporate governance. #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 5, 2013
Affonso: "Key is, consistent performance in net revs, net income, capital structure, well balanced w/ 51% govt & 49% public. #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 5, 2013
Christopher Gasson, Global Water Intelligence publisher, "I want to take you to a dark place of no growth." #AWS13 @WaterIntel
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 5, 2013
Gasson: "In that dark place, you just take from someone else & look at own self-interest, like a 'tea party for water.'" #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 5, 2013
Gasson: "We've had 5 lost years already, according to the construction stats for water, sewer & waste." #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 5, 2013
Gasson: "Time to take the gloves off and fight for a bigger slice of pie." #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 5, 2013
Gasson: "Former infrastructure financial model is not sufficient bc of leakages in cycle due to globalization vs localization." #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 5, 2013
Gasson: "Our water manifesto must include escape, perform, profit & engage." #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 5, 2013
Gasson: "We need to escape public balance sheet & profit/loss focus and get greater independence in tariff setting pols." #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 5, 2013
Gasson: "We need to perform and prove we are as efficient as possible, not just *say* it." #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 5, 2013
Gasson: We need to be part of the solution, not the problem – when it comes to profit w/ proof of return on cap employed #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 5, 2013
Gasson: "We need to engage the public bc water touches everyone & can bring people together." #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 5, 2013
Jo-Ellen Darcy, US Army for Civil Works: "We must collaborate & share expertise and resources to arm ourselves for the future." #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 5, 2013
Darcy: "Nature Conservancy for integrated river management & other associations work together to improve reliability of water." #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 5, 2013
Darcy: NOA, @USACEHQ & @fema helped to develop sea-level rise tool to map risk areas; project nominee for @BarackObama's Green Award. #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 5, 2013
Darcy explains @BarackObama's "We Can't Wait" initiatives to ensure infrastructure projects have aggressive, accelerated schedules. #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 5, 2013
Darcy: Other initiatives – maritime transportation investment & modernize planning process to reduce time & cost of projects. #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 5, 2013
Darcy: Try to look at sustainability in all projects, explore value to community, watershed & economy for fed investment decisions. #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 5, 2013
Carter Strickland, NYC Commissioner for Dept of Environmental Protection, provides 1B gal water to 9M NY citizens every day. #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 5, 2013
Strickland: NYC water board sets rates independently; department published a resiliency plan $315M in investments last week #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 5, 2013
Strickland provocatively posed the question: Is there overinvestment in the industry? and overbuilding in parts of China & Spain? #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 5, 2013
Strickland: With fewer mandates in the future, we'll have more money to spend on other things. Capital delivery must improve. #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 5, 2013
Strickland: Operational expenses are high w/ $110M spent on energy, but 1.5 yr old op excellence program yielding $36M savings. #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 5, 2013
Strickland: Goal is to shift from commodity to service-based reputation for the department. #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 5, 2013
Karen Pallansch of Alexandria Renew Enterprises for Wastewater found ways to optimize the system – so asks, "What if?" #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 5, 2013
Pallansch: Operational expenses held under 2% increase over 10 years. #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 5, 2013
Pallansch: "We rebranded from Sanitation Authority," as got too many calls asking us to pick up their trash!" #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 5, 2013
Pallannsch: Environmental improvements equal economic opportunities. #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 5, 2013
Pallansch: "Go back & think, 'What if?' and find a way to make a difference to the future of water." #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 5, 2013
Mayor John Dickert of Racine, Wisc., "If we can't find efficiencies, we look for PPP's." #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 5, 2013
Dickert: $1.43M in economic impact from boats in the marinas. #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 5, 2013
Dickert: 200K visitors to beach yearly – 25% from out of town – spend $150/day per person, generating $7.5M in economic impact. #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 5, 2013
Dickert: Racine's future holds more urban aquaculture farms and more PPP's. #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 5, 2013
Dickert: Have to solve the lack of leadership on water & encourage politicians not to look just at short-term Twitter politics. #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 5, 2013
Greenwood: Success ingredients = integrated water, expanded business model, sell more than just water, community integration. #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 5, 2013
Snehal Desai, @DowChemical, explained how they alleviate pressure on local authorities & bring communities economic benefit. #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 5, 2013
Joseph Miller of @DukeEnergy said, "Shared resource = shared responsibility." #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 5, 2013
Jonathan Radtke of @CocaColaCo says, "The main ingredient in all beverages is water – not sugar, as critics might think." #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 5, 2013
Radtke: Water used as key ingredient in supply chain, too – it takes 2.1 bottles of water to make 1 bottle of @CocaCola. #AWS13 @CocaColaCo
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 5, 2013
Radtke: Due to it's size, Coke has a target on it's back; Coke pledges to be sustainability leader globally. #AWS13 @CocaColaCo
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 5, 2013
Radtke: Coke aims for water neutrality by putting back what is used. Our goal is to reduce, replenish, recycle. #AWS13 @CocaColaCo
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 5, 2013
Radtke: @CocaColaCo aims to reduce 25% water use by 2020 with, for example, cleaning bottles w/ ionized air. #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 5, 2013
Radtke: @CocaColaCo doesn't use recycled water in beverages bc the public is not quite ready to drink recycled water. #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 5, 2013
Mayor Greg Ballard of Indianapolis described initiative, "Reconnect to Our Waterways" to help community development. #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 6, 2013
Ballard: netted $400-500M from private, charitable trust – enough to fix 60 bridges over two years. #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 6, 2013
Mayor Joy Cooper of Hallandale Beach, FL is also on US Conference of Mayors Water Council; Ballard is Chair. #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 6, 2013
Cooper: Closing off ocean outfalls all at once would have cost citizens $100 a month. #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 6, 2013
Cooper: City is densely populated w/ 8000 people per square mile – 38,000 people in 4.4 sq. miles, 1.5 ft above sea level. #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 6, 2013
Cooper: Need resiliency and integrated planning, as we have a range of other problems too, such as salt-water intrusion. #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 6, 2013
Mayor Mark Burroughs of Denton, TX said mayors need to set vision and pus people toward those goals. #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 6, 2013
Burroughs: "If things don't change, will we have adequate resources 50 years from now? No way!" #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 6, 2013
Burroughs: Ogallala Aquifer is projected to be drained dry in next 20-40 years & will impact food supplies from the Midwest. #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 6, 2013
Burroughs: "Someone has to step up and make this a national strategic priority." #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 6, 2013
Mayor Jerry Willey of Hillsborough, OR reiterated that 44% of waterways in US are not suitable for drinking or recreation. #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 6, 2013
Willey: High-tech industries w/ high water demands settle there because of visionary water planning. #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 6, 2013
Willey: Population growth is a challenge, but rates are relatively low compared to other neighboring cities. #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 6, 2013
Willey: 12-member Joint Water Commission uses "Public-Public" Partnerships w/ 4 other neighboring cities. #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 6, 2013
Willey: Planning facilities w/ additional cities in the area w/ partnership of counties & industries in the future is key. #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 6, 2013
Cooper: If you are innovative, there is no ‘no’! #aws13
Julius Ciaccia, Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District: Challenges include combined sewer overflow & stormwater programs. #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 6, 2013
Ciaccia: "I've never had to look up so many acronyms in my life as I have in the last few days!!" #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 6, 2013
Jeff Theerman, Brown & Caldwell: Dept. of Transportation helped open the door to design-build in Missouri 2 years ago. #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 6, 2013
Tom Frederick, Rivanna Water & Sewer Authority: Skeptical of getting federal money – need to look for alternative financing models. #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 6, 2013
Frederick: "Everybody makes mistakes. The difference is that people have to drink ours." #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 6, 2013
Theerman: "The revenue source is always the customer." #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 6, 2013
Dan McCarthy of Dan McCarthy Consulting LLC facilitated a stimulating discussion among water leader panelists. #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 6, 2013
Bertrand Camus of @unitedwater: We are in a transition phase for capital delivery models as our laws are outdated. #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 6, 2013
Quick poll: A quarter of the #AWS13 audience voted best opportunity for squeezing cost out of system is new technologies.
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 6, 2013
Tom Sigmund, New Water is recovering energy & phosphorous, partnering w/ farmers. #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 6, 2013
Pat Mulroy, Southern Nevada Water Authority, said, "Single most important approach is to involve the communities." #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 6, 2013
Sharlene Leurig, Ceres, works w/ rating agencies to alert them to changing trends – might be missing from credit ratings. #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 6, 2013
Leurig: "When it comes to new sources of capital, fear prevails." #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 6, 2013
Nat Paynter, Safe Water Network, discusses how they work keep to water flowing by encouraging community financing. #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 6, 2013
Albert Cho, Xylem: Capital deficits not from engineering or economics but prioritization and inability to mobilize political will. #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 6, 2013
Mulroy: ''Never let a good crisis go to waste!'' #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 6, 2013
Mulroy: We've put conflict aside and all 7 states are interdependent…our biggest fear can be our greatest strength. #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 6, 2013
GWI's @AWITracker is tracking 800+ CIPs for cities larger than 50K. Also, 707 unique large CapEx projects. #AWS13 #projecttracking
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 6, 2013
@AWITracker data: Majority of large projects being tracked in US are DBB in wastewater. #AWS13 #projecttracking @WaterIntel
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 6, 2013
@AWITracker data: California has most long & short-term projects, but also has the most cancelled/stalled projects. #AWS13 #projecttracking
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 6, 2013
@AWITracker data: US market drivers include water scarcity & steam electric regulation among tighter regulations. #AWS13 #projecttracking
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 6, 2013
@AWITracker data: Wastewater tech trends include ion exchange, thermal evaporation, chemical/bio & adsorptive media. #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 6, 2013
@AWITracker data: In terms of CapEx, the highest growth is on wastewater treatment by 2018. #AWS13 #projecttracking
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 6, 2013
@AWITracker data: Growth due to oil plays in water-stressed areas like Eagle Ford & Permian Basin. #AWS13 #projecttracking
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 6, 2013
@AWITracker data: Electrocoagulation, membrane distillation, dehumidification, low salinity water, onside water quality sensors… #AWS13
— GWI North America (@USWaterIntel) November 6, 2013