ACWA Fall Conference to Focus on Regional Water Plans for Statewide Needs

The Association of California Water Agencies (ACWA) is expecting to draw more than 2,000 water professionals, experts and other leaders in the field at its annual Fall Conference and Exhibition, to be held November 29-December 2 at the Town and Country Resort and Convention Center in San Diego. The theme for the event is Water: Statewide Needs, Regional Plans -- Who Leads? Who Pays? The event also serves to mark ACWA's 95th birthday.

California State Senator Denise Moreno Ducheny (D-San Diego) will speak at the November 30 Opening Breakfast at 8 a.m. Mark Limbaugh, assistant secretary for water and science for the U.S. Department of the Interior, will keynote at the November 30 luncheon, scheduled for noon. Among other featured speakers slated for December 1 are U.S. Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner John Keys, who will address ACWA's Federal Projects Subcommittee on December 1 at 8:30 a.m., and Department of Water Resources Director Lester Snow, who will speak at the noon luncheon.

In addition, ACWA will elect new leadership to succeed outgoing President Jerry Gladbach and outgoing Vice President Randy Fiorini. The ACWA Nominating Committee has slated Fiorini for ACWA president and ACWA's current Federal Affairs Committee Chair Glen Peterson for vice president. The voting will take place during the November 30 luncheon.

Issue panels, presentations and programs will cover an array of topics, including California's Katrina, water supply prediction science, challenges associated with managing growth in a floodplain and cleaning up without a lawsuit.

The conference will also feature a trade exhibition and a daylong pre-conference workshop on November 29 exploring the theme, Water Resources Management and Growth: California at a Crossroads.