Once again, Santa Fe will host the Next Generation Water Summit (NGWS), now in its eighth year, with a robust and timely agenda. This year’s theme is “Increasing Resilience in an Unpredictable Climate.” The Summit will take place on June 5 and 6 and will offer both in-person and virtual participation options. In-person attendees will convene at the Roundhouse, 490 Old Santa Fe Trail.
Designed to address both regional and national water challenges, the NGWS offers over 25 thought-provoking sessions, including the event’s first-ever two-part interactive experience. National topics will run across both days, with a New Mexico-specific track featured on June 6. Session topics include: the Environmental Protection Agency’s pilot study on water and energy savings; Santa Fe’s updated residential green building code; mandatory vs. voluntary water conservation programs; overcoming barriers to greywater adoption; the new national commercial water auditor training program; and navigating conservation funding in uncertain times.
Thursday, June 5 will feature former Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland as the keynote speaker. Her remarks will begin at approximately 9 a.m. The New Mexico native will address coalition building and water policy as we enter a very uncertain time in the Colorado River basin. Mary Ann Dickinson, director of land and water policy at the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, will headline Friday, June 6, with a keynote address.
“The Next Generation Water Summit is a wonderful conference that inspires and promotes innovative thinking on water,” said Dickinson.
Figuring out how to sustainably manage water resources while dealing with climate change and administration changes is a shared problem to solve. This is how the city of Santa Fe maintains its national leading water conservation efforts, by bringing in subject matter experts from around the country and building future-facing consensus.
In support of Santa Fe’s established leadership in water conservation, the city of Santa Fe is offering free virtual access to all city and county residents. The NGWS also features a variety of free events open to the public. These include a networking and awards evening at the governor’s mansion on June 5 and local conservation workshops on June 7. A two-day Water Efficiency Rating Score (WERS) training for multifamily projects will be held on June 3-4, and that is free with an in-person summit registration.
From hands-on workshops to national policy discussions, the summit offers nearly a weeklong focus on innovation, education and collaboration in water conservation. All sessions, whether attended live or virtually, will be available on-demand for registrants.
Christine Y. Chavez has abackground in water rightsadministration and energyand water conservationprogram managementin New Mexico. She is agraduate of New MexicoState University with a B.S.in environmental scienceand an M.S. in biology.Christine is the manager ofthe City of Santa Fe’s WaterConservation Office.She may be reached at505-955-4219 orcychavez@santafenm.gov.
