Written by Alyssa Holland, Lisa Mae Gage, and Lisa Kane
Water Week 2018 is currently underway as water organizations across the country gather in Washington, D.C. to advocate the importance of water protection and conservation with hopes of ultimately elevating water to a national priority. Organizations in the water sector are using Water Week to ramp up their efforts to educate policymakers about the need for funding to benefit water infrastructure. Many organizations are collaborating for Water Week, including National Association of Clean Water Agencies (“NACWA”), Water Environment Federation (“WEF”), American Water Works Association (“AWWA”), and the National Water Resources Association (“NWRA”), for example.
A few main events will take place during Water Week:
- On April 17-18, 2018 the National Policy Fly-In:
An event to provide the public with the opportunity to voice concerns and challenges to their policy makers. - April 17-19, 2018: Water and Wastewater Equipment Manufacturers Association (“WWEMA”) 45th Washington Forum:
“Effectively Communicating Change at the National, State, and Local Level,” a discussion regarding changes happening in Washington, D.C. and to the nationwide water infrastructure, environmental and public health protection, and legislative and regulatory changes that will impact the water sector. - On April 19, 2018 the WateReuse Association Water Week 2018 Congressional Briefing:
Four (4) different communities across the country will be highlighted for their use of water recycling and the local economic benefits that encourage other communities to do the same.
While each organization has a slightly different mission, each has a goal of advancing education regarding water issues and returning to their communities with the priority of educating the general public on the same issues. One of the main events, the Congressional Briefing, will directly discuss tools used in arid states (such as one of our main states of practice, Nevada) to address water scarcity and a way for communities to better manage their local water resources to help spur economic growth and plan for the future.
Schroeder Law Offices Nevada attorney Therese Ure also attends and hosts local conferences in Nevada to continue education regarding how to support the community’s resource challenges and even more particularly, how to support Northern Nevada’s agriculture industry. Click here to see our coming events for local education on the topic. Although attending these events may not be a possibility for everyone, we should all use Water Week as a time to reflect on how valuable water is to our everyday lives and to look for ways to conserve and protect water within our own communities.
