By Kris Polly

The seaside city of Newport is one of Oregon’s top tourist destinations. However, to guarantee that tourism and industry remain strong, the city must solve two significant water challenges: It must plan for a replacement for its earthen water supply dams, which are vulnerable to major earthquakes, and it must heavily invest in its wastewater system to keep up with the city’s growth. We speak with Mayor Jan Kaplan about the search for solutions to these problems— and for the necessary funds.

Today, the City of Los Angeles relies on imported water to meet 90 percent of its needs. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) would like to change that. We speak with Anselmo Collins, who leads LADWP’s water system, about its remediation-plus-recharge approach, which will involve cleaning the groundwater in the San Fernando basin and then using the basin to store reclaimed water from city facilities.

Turning to the opposite coast, we check in with New York City’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Providing drinking water and wastewater services to the metropolis are big tasks in themselves, but DEP must also deal with other issues, including storm surge. To do so, it has established a new Bureau of Coastal Protection. We speak with the new bureau’s deputy commissioner, Laurian Farrell.

Chris Bruno Sr. and Chris Bruno Jr. both work for the Washington Aqueduct, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers–run agency that provides water for the Washington, DC, metro area. We hear about how the passion for water was passed down from father to son, learn more about the aqueduct’s facilities, and get the inside story on why both Brunos have pursued Water Professionals International’s Professional Operator (PO) certification.

Next, we speak with Doreen Tresca, the marketing manager at SSI Aeration. SSI is a global leader in the design and manufacture of wastewater treatment plant equipment, with facilities and customers both in the United States and abroad.

Purecontrol is a French company that supplies artificial intelligence–based solutions for water and wastewater operators. As Pauline Lorin explains, Purecontrol’s software can help manage pumping, storage tanks, wastewater treatment, and more—saving energy, chemicals, and money along the way.

Finally, we speak with Lance Secrest, the general manager of Spray in Place Solutions, which uses a robotic device to restore the inside of pipes by spraying them with a specialized epoxy. Using this method can radically reduce the amount of trenching necessary for pipe rehabilitation projects.

Water is a universal, whether for small cities with a year-round population of 10,000 or for the biggest urban areas in the country. Guaranteeing high-quality water, wastewater, and storm water services requires top-notch professionals, long-term planning, and cutting-edge technology. In this issue, we bring you all three.

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.