By Kris Polly

In our cover story this month, we interview Brian Macy, the general manager of Mission Springs Water District (MSWD) in Riverside County, California. Thanks to several decades of conservation and water quality projects and high levels of buy-in from customers and stakeholders, the groundwater resources that MSWD relies on for all its supply are stable and, what’s more, have repeatedly won awards for their excellent taste.

The Regional Water Authority (RWA) is a joint powers authority serving 20 member utilities in the greater Sacramento area, allowing them to pool their resources for advocacy, grant applications, advertising, water resources planning, and more. In our conversation with RWA Executive Director Jim Peifer, we focus in particular on the Sacramento Regional Water Bank, an RWA-coordinated program through which member agencies cooperate in the conjunctive use of water and the preservation of precious groundwater resources.

After that, we speak with JC Davis, the director of customer care and field services for the Las Vegas Valley Water District, about the utility’s leak prevention and repair work. Using advanced metering infrastructure, the district can pinpoint likely leaks on customer properties; then, a suite of programs kicks in to help customers pay for repairs.

We then turn to a success story born of collaboration. After a visit by staff from the Arizona-based Buckeye Water Conservation and Drainage District (BWCDD) to the Wisconsin headquarters of pumping system manufacturer Watertronics, the two entities worked together to develop the Well Sentry, a remote monitoring and control device for wells. We speak with Robby Milton, the technical sales, product, and market development manager at Watertronics, and Noel Carter and Tyler Frew, the general manager and well maintenance supervisor at BWCDD, to learn how the Well Sentry has aided the district. This technology, developed collaboratively by BWCDD and Watertronics, has the potential to make a real difference.

Next, we learn about a technology that may prove to be the next big thing in desalination. Technology company Vandstrom is seeking to imitate natural systems by using highly selective proteins to greatly increase the effectiveness of membranes. When the technology is fully developed, says Oliver Geschke, Vandstrom’s vice president of R&D, it could make seawater desalination much more efficient and profitable.

Last, we take a moment to introduce Ed Mears, the Arizona and New Mexico water business development manager for engineering consulting company HDR. With an interesting background and wide-ranging experience in construction and consulting, Mr. Mears is an excellent resource for anyone looking for a water resources partner in the Southwest.

In the Southwest, prudence and vigilance are key for preserving and protecting scarce water resources. This month’s stories provide an excellent tour d’horizon of the efforts that regional entities are putting into this task, including initiatives focused on conservation, water quality, leak protection, and conjunctive use, as well as the new monitoring and remote control technologies that are lending a new level of precision to their labors.

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.