By Kris Polly

The City of Santa Fe has become a water leader through two main paradigm shifts: first, a successful push for water conservation featuring tiered rate structures and efficient appliances, and second, a shift toward surface water supplies. Jesse Roach, the director of City of Santa Fe Water, tells us about its successes up to this point and the next paradigm shift on the horizon: a focus on reducing outdoor water use and reusing water used indoors.

Since 1959, the Water Replenishment District of Southern California has worked to replenish and manage groundwater in parts of Los Angeles County in response to past overpumping and seawater intrusion. General Manager Stephan Tucker tells us more about this forward-looking agency and how it has eliminated the need to purchase imported water by developing local sources.

Kennedy Jenks (KJ) is a civil and environmental engineering firm with over a century of experience under its belt. Vice President Dawn Taffler joins us to discuss KJ’s work across all aspects of the One Water spectrum and to talk about a few recent major projects.

H2O Innovation provides systems, products, and services for water, wastewater, water reuse, and maple product and agricultural customers around the world. We speak with Chief Strategy Officer Greg Madden about the company’s main business lines and its ambitious plans for growth.

Flowserve is a global flow control solutions company with a strong manufacturing and service presence in the United States. As Vice President of Innovation and Technology Karthik Sivaraman informs us, the company’s aim today is to become a total solutions provider using advanced digitization tools.

USG Water Solutions provides water asset rehabilitation and maintenance services for small and medium-sized public water utilities across North America. One of its offerings is a subscription-based asset management program that includes regular maintenance, warranties, and future renovations. Ryan Richardson, USG’s new senior vice president of sales and marketing, tells us more.

Linita is a manufacturer of gates, hoists, and hydromechanical equipment that has recently supplied gates for New York City’s $1.45 billion East Side Coastal Resiliency Project. Chief Operating Officer Sean Greenhouse tells us more.

The Orange County, California–based National Water Research Institute works to develop regulations for water recycling and treatment facilities. We speak with Executive Director Kevin Hardy about the organization’s recent projects and the advisory panels that support it.

This month’s mix of stories shows how public and private entities complement each other. Conservation- and innovation- minded public servants can provide the long-term vision that is needed to move our water systems forward, and manufacturing, engineering, and maintenance companies can provide the products and services needed to make that vision a reality.

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.