By Kris Polly

As of this year, Congressman Sam Graves is the new chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. With a background in aviation, a knowledge of flooding issues from growing up on a farm, and years of experience in the committee, he is an excellent leader to have at its helm. In this month’s cover story, Congressman Graves talks with us about his priorities for his term as chairman and digs down into some of the most relevant policy issues he’ll be overseeing, including work on the next Water Resources Development Act and issues related to the Waters of the United States rule.

Next, we speak with Lawrence Field, the CEO and founder of WaterIQ Technologies, which manufactures ultrasonic algae mitigation devices. By emitting a resonant frequency, the device destroys blue-green and green algae just as an opera singer can shatter a glass by hitting the right note. In our conversation, we learn more about how this technology can control algal blooms without the chemicals.

MentorAPM provides an asset management system that can help municipal utilities with pipes, wastewater treatment facilities, and more. Cofounder and CEO Tacoma Zach tells us more about the benefits of implementing a computerized maintenance management solution like the one MentorAPM offers.

The Interstate Council on Water Policy is a national organization that provides a voice for local, regional, and state decisionmakers in federal matters related to water resource management, water quality, integrated water planning, and more. One of its top priorities is supporting the U.S. Geological Survey’s streamgage program. In our interview, Executive Director Beth Callaway tells us more about how the council pursues these aims and why water professionals should get involved.

Finally, we talk with Jennifer Hickenbottom, a water project manager for the federal government, about what she does in her spare time. In this case, those extracurricular activities involve traveling hundreds of miles into remote locations in Africa, Nepal, and Latin America to help install basic water infrastructure in villages that lack ready access to water. Ms. Hickenbottom is a senior associate with Hydromissions international, a Christian nonprofit that has funded over 650 water projects in over 40 countries, and she tells us more about the organization and its work.

Government, private enterprises, trade associations, and charitable organizations are all doing their part to create and sustain water infrastructure for the health of people across this nation and around the world. I hope you enjoy reading their stories this month.

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.