By Kris Polly

The Contra Costa Water District provides water to more than half a million residents in Contra Costa County, California. Today, it is putting into motion a particularly large and important project: the piping of the Contra Costa Canal, its main artery. In this month’s cover interview, we speak with General Manager Rachel Murphy about the stages of planning for this significant project and the timeline for its completion.

After that, we interview Adrienne Widmer, the director of the Las Cruces Utilities Department. Dependent on local groundwater, the New Mexico city is focusing on water conservation and planning for the long term with its 40‑Year Water Development Plan.

Seal Rock Water District, located on Oregon’s central coast, long sourced its water from a nearby municipality. Dependence on a lengthy single pipeline, however, was imprudent given the risk of a major earthquake along the Cascadia subduction zone. In 2022, the district established a local water intake. We speak with General Manager Adam Denlinger and Board President Rob Mills to learn more about the process.

Watertronics is one of the largest pumping system suppliers in the world and provides systems for irrigation and municipal use. In September 2025, the company hosted a 1‑day training and factory tour fly-in to give partners and prospective clients a closer view of its capabilities. In our conversation with Robby Milton, the company’s technical sales, product, and market development manager, and three of the tour participants, we learn more about the benefits of the event and highlight reasons why readers may want to attend Watertronics’ next fly-in, which will be on April 1.

After that, we profile a new technology that promises to make pipe inspections more reliable and data driven. Electro Scan’s patented probe technology uses a low-voltage electric current to reliably and precisely locate and measure leaks in the walls of underground water and wastewater pipes. In the course of using the technology, the company also discovered that it can accurately identify lead pipes—a use case that has become one of its main business lines. Founder and CEO Chuck Hansen tells us more.

Finally, WSP professionals Jennifer Brunton and Alex Shannon take a look at the challenges utilities face as they attempt to get up to speed with regulations governing treatment for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS—regulations that are themselves rapidly developing.

When the safety and security of a city’s water source is at stake, no effort is too large. More importantly, no timescale is too long—especially given the significant regulatory and planning hurdles that major projects must clear. This month’s stories highlight conscientious and determined professionals who are working to guarantee that their communities are supplied with ample water for decades to come.

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.