Negotiating the Agreements of the Future
By Kris Polly
This month, Municipal Water Leader Contributing Editor Jeff Kightlinger interviews a major figure in the world of water: John Entsminger, the general manager of the Southern Nevada Water Authority. Mr. Entsminger discusses the history behind the Drought Contingency Plan and the new 500+ Plan and the need for leadership as these and other major Colorado River basin agreements come closer to their expiration in 2026.
We also speak with Max Silva of A&W Maintenance, the master applicator for Warren Environmental epoxy products, about the many applications of Warren’s coatings and how A&W rehabilitated and coated 5,000 feet of water mains in the town of Milton, Massachusetts, whose diameter had previously been reduced from 10 to 4 inches by rust.
Next, we feature a group article on top current issues affecting western water by attorneys and government advocacy professionals from law and government relations firm Van Ness Feldman. Supreme Court decisions, drought, government regulations, forecasting technology, congressional legislation, and international negotiations—developments in all these fields stand to affect western water in the near future.
The presence in water of harmful per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, is an increasing concern for municipal water agencies across the nation. California-based AqueoUS Vets has grown rapidly in recent years to become one of the biggest PFAS treatment system providers in the country. President and CEO Robert Craw tells us more.
Finally, we speak with Martin Doyle, the director of the Water Policy Program at the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions and a professor of river science and policy at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment. Mr. Doyle tells us about the institute’s work to collect water data and make them accessible in a user-friendly format to everyone from utility managers to citizen scientists.
By finding leadership for crucial new agreements, rehabilitating vital infrastructure, informing the industry about current developments, addressing contaminants of emerging concern, and ensuring that necessary data are available to all, the water professionals we feature in this month’s issue are forging the industry’s future.
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.