Annually, the U.S. Conference of Mayors Water Council meets in Washington, D.C., at the St. Regis Hotel. This year?s meeting took place Oct. 27-28.
Co-chairs for the council are Mayor Jennifer Hosterman, Pleasanton, Calif., and Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, Baltimore Md. Considering the meeting was being held in Washington, D.C., there was considerable focus on matters related to the federal government. At the top of the list was a discussion on ?Federal Water and Wastewater Mandates.?
The general atmosphere of the mayors was that there is an ever-increasing number of unfunded mandates. The mayors discussed that with tighter municipal budgets, it is difficult to address these mandates. Discussing the wastewater mandates at the meeting were Susan Bodine, Barnes & Thornburg, and Adrienne Nemura, Limno Tech. Regarding the drinking water mandates, Tom Curtis of AWWA was present.
The second day of these council meetings is usually devoted to innovations. Chad Carney of 3M made a presentation titled ?A Sustainable and Cost Effective Rehabilitation Solution for Potable Water Infrastructure? based on 3M?s new water pipeline coating system. Veolia Water has developed a new approach to public-private partnerships based on performance contracting. Harald Jensen and David Gadis of Veloia made a presentation titled ?A Winning Formula for Your City? Winnipeg Alliance Reshapes How City Manages Water Infrastructure Challenges.?
There was a session on ?System Efficiencies, Emergency Preparedness and Innovations.? A new Water Council member, PureSafe Water System?s Gerald Stoehr made a presentation on ?Providing Water Supply in Disaster Events and Recovery Periods.? Another new Water Council member, Schneider Electric, made a presentation on ?Energy Performance Contracting and Supply Management for Water and Wastewater Treatment.? Edwin Newell was there on behalf of Schneider Electric.
As the meeting closed, the mayors met privately with U.S. EPA officials.
