April 22 – 23, 2024
Cleveland Botanical Garden
Cleveland, Ohio
One Water Leadership Institutes are an exclusive opportunity for US Water Alliance members to learn from sector-wide leaders, gain in-depth knowledge, and put new skills into practice alongside peers from across the country.
Partnerships of all kinds, especially regional partnerships, have a role to play in advancing sustainable water management in the United States. Communities, and particularly underserved communities, face increasingly complex water challenges from aging infrastructure, climate impacts, and pollution to ensuring access and affordability in the face of rising costs. The ability to address these threats varies from community to community and is complicated by the diffuse and diverse systems of water management and delivery in this country. Through authentic cooperation and community-driven partnerships, larger utilities can bring resources and capacities to bear that contribute to more regional One Water solutions. By working together, large and small communities can achieve greater gains for the region than they would be able to working on their own.
US Water Alliance members are advancing the One Water movement—a transformative idea that envisions managing all water in an integrated, inclusive, and sustainable manner. At this Institute, US Water Alliance members will hone their One Water Change Leadership capacities and apply these principles to envisioning impactful regional partnerships. Participants will learn from Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District’s success as an anchor utility supporting neighboring communities in their efforts to finance and execute mutually beneficial infrastructure improvement projects. We will examine three primary models of regional partnerships: regional water and sewer utilities partnering with utilities in their own service areas; water and sewer utilities supporting communities beyond their service areas to achieve greater regional capacity and One Water outcomes; and watershed-based partnerships driving outcomes water and sewer utilities could not achieve on their own. In each model, we will explore a range of partnership goals including providing support in achieving community and environmental outcomes, accessing funding, managing capital projects, and providing technical, financial, and managerial advising and support to neighboring utilities. Finally, participants will explore common barriers to regional partnerships and best practices for overcoming those barriers.
One Water Leadership Institutes are free of charge for US Water Alliance members. Two breakfasts, two lunches, a networking dinner, and an optional site visit are included. Attendees are responsible for lodging and transportation to the host city. An Alliance member organization may request registration for up to two individuals.
