President's Message

With this being such a critical election year, I’m sure everyone wants to talk about our two main presidential candidates and their re-match from 2020. I’m certain that most of you are really enjoying the daily updates on who said what, as well as all the many TV advertisements, TikTok videos, and newspaper articles. I know for a fact that you are all sharing this great stuff with all your family members, friends and co-workers. All in good fun, I hope!

For this President’s message, I’d like to get your minds off of all the politics and talk about something important in our profession. Water Week 2024 will be held from April 7–13 in Washington, DC. The main event of the week will be the annual National Water Policy Fly-In, as key leaders across the water industry all fly out to DC from April 8-10. The Fly-In represents the largest opportunity for advocating our concerns and needs at the grassroots level. During this session, our representatives have the opportunity to mingle with congressional leaders and key EPA representatives to voice our concerns.

The National Water Policy Fly-In is presented jointly by the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA), the Water Environment Federation (WEF), the Water Research Foundation (WRF), and the WateReuse Association. The theme for 2024 is “Accelerating Action”.

This year, Brandon Koltz and Chris Tippery will be representing Wisconsin Water and Wastewater communities before our legislative leaders in the House and Senate. They are developing a coalition between Central States Water Environment Association – Wisconsin Section, Wisconsin Wastewater Operators Association, American Water Works Association – Wisconsin Section, American Society of Civil Engineers, Municipal Environmental Group (MEG) – Wastewater Division, Wisconsin Rural Water Association, and the League of Wisconsin Municipalities. They’ll be advocating for communities’ needs in terms of additional funding, policy and regulations.

If WWOA members have specific items that they would like addressed with our legislators, please reach out to Chris Tippery at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or give him a call at (414) 267-7335. Your concerns may not be able to be addressed in 2024, but we can start developing a list of concerns for 2025. Follow this link for a copy of their report (see pgs. 37-38) from the 2023 DC Fly-In: CS_ Summer2023_RICH.pdf (cswea.org).

As I write this, the April 2024 edition of the Clarifier is going to press, so it may not reach you before this year’s event, but I hope you will keep the National Water Policy Fly-In on your minds every year as Water Week approaches. It may be too late to send in your comments for this year, but please try to get something in for next year. Large committees send their own people but Chris and Brandon really are the voice for the smaller communities. It is my hope that once you read this you will send in some topics you would like to see discussed. You voice is important, because our leaders and policymakers need to understand the issues though your eyes and experiences.

The theme, “Accelerating Action”, doesn’t have to leave us once Water Week 2024 is over. Instead, it should serve as a reminder throughout the year that we all need to pitch in to ensure that we speed up the process of effecting change in our industry, as we work to protect our most precious resource: water.