Welcome to the first issue of Municipal Water Leader magazine. Managing a drinking water or wastewater agency is an exceptionally difficult and challenging job. The men and women who fill those positions must possess a variety of skills and abilities required of different jobs that range from engineer to politician. There is no how-to manual or playbook for managing a water agency. First-hand knowledge and years of experience remain the most important teachers and qualifications. The mission of this magazine is to focus on the solutions, leadership, professionalism, and experience of those many accomplished individuals whose agencies are tasked with providing the United States with safe, reliable, and affordable drinking water.

Additionally, this magazine is to serve as a forum for the general managers, boards of directors, and engineers of water agencies to share ideas and learn from each other. Most importantly, this magazine is intended to help our nation’s decisionmakers better understand the public drinking water and wastewater sectors and the multitude of infrastructure and regulatory challenges they face. To that end, this magazine is provided to the leadership of key federal agencies and to every governor, legislator, and member of Congress in all 50 states.

Kris Polly is editor-in-chief of Municipal Water Leader and Irrigation Leader magazines. He is also president of Water Strategies LLC, a government relations, marketing, and publishing company he began in February 2009 for the purpose of representing and guiding water, power, and agricultural entities in their dealings with Congress, the Bureau of Reclamation, and other federal government agencies. He may be contacted at Kris.Polly@wateretrategies.com