By Kris Polly

This month, Southern California’s Eastern Municipal Water District (EMWD) celebrates its 75th anniversary. In its three-quarters of a century, EMWD has become a leader in efficiency, water recycling, and fiscal soundness. In our conversation with General Manager Joe Mouawad, we dig into the secrets of the agency’s success, ask his advice regarding communications and partnerships, and look at what the future will bring for this great agency.

Next, we speak with Kari Steele, the president of the board of commissioners of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD). The history of this impressive agency goes back more than 130 years and includes some truly impressive projects, including the reversal of the flow of the Chicago River and the construction of a multicanal waterway system that involved some of the world’s largest earth-moving projects ever. Today, the MWRD is working to complete the Tunnel and Reservoir Plan, a characteristically gargantuan project that includes some of the world’s largest combined sewer overflow reservoirs.

Turning to Northern California, we learn about the RiverArc project, a multiagency initiative that aims to build a new water treatment plant and shift water diversions in the Sacramento region in order to guarantee the reliability of municipal water supplies and provide environmental benefits to the Lower American River. Sean Bigley of the City of Roseville, Brett Ewart of the City of Sacramento, and Laura Rodarte of the Placer County Water Agency fill us in on RiverArc’s history and future.

Pinnacle Ozone Solutions, based in Florida, provides ozone generators and related devices to municipal and industrial customers worldwide. It is also seeking to advance the state of the industry through its new R&D lab. Sannel Patel, the company’s director of business development and marketing, tells us more about the lab’s work and aims.

What risks must municipal water agencies insure against? What policies should they have? How is all this influenced by dynamic factors such as climate change, regulation, and the risk of cyberattacks? All these questions and more are addressed in our interview with Andy Lott and George Dazzio of the Insurance Office of America.

We wrap up this month’s issue with an interview with Christine Arbogast, the president of Kogovsek and Associates and the federal affairs committee chair of the National Water Resources Association, about the aims and successes of the Women in Water Scholarship Fund.

Municipal water is an industry that underpins the long-term success of entire cities and regions, and because of that, no project is too big to consider. Municipal agencies are charged with ensuring sustainability and conservation, guaranteeing reliable water supplies and services, and continually advancing the state of technology. This month’s stories illustrate those facets of our industry in a particularly vivid way.

Kris Polly is the editor-in-chief of Municipal Water Leader magazine and the president and CEO of Water Strategies LLC, a government relations firm 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 can be contacted at kris.polly@waterstrategies.com.