With concerns growing over water infrastructure funding and customer affordability, commissioners from two leading utilities – one from the East Coast and one from the Southwest – will discuss how they engaged citizens in developing water rates during the June 13 Public Officials Breakfast & Caucus, 8-11:30 a.m. at Mandalay Bay South Seas Ballroom AB in Las Vegas, Nev.

The event is part of the 2018 American Water Works Association’s Annual Conference & Exposition (ACE18), June 11-14, which is expected to draw more than 12,000 water professionals to discuss water quantity, quality and management.

Commissioner Marilyn Kirkpatrick from Clark County, Nev., will welcome the public officials to Las Vegas and share infrastructure reinvestment experiences during her discussion, “Reinvesting in Efficiency: Building a Reliable Water System for the 21^st Century.”

Following Kirkpatrick’s remarks, Commissioner Thomasina Rogers, chair of the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission in Maryland, will give a presentation titled “The Shape of Water Rates: Revamping Legacy Rates to Fit a Century-Old, New Age Utility.” Rogers will discuss challenges associated with WSSC’s proposed new rate structure and explain how the utility followed a deliberative and transparent process that placed a premium on public input. Before retiring from the federal government in 2015, Rogers held high level appointments in three Presidential Administrations and in the Senior Executive Service of the federal government.

Other speakers include AWWA President Brenda Lennox, who will open the event, and Tommy Holmes, AWWA legislative director, who will discuss recent developments in Washington, D.C. that will impact utilities.

The event is sponsored by Wachs Water (a xylem brand).

The Public Officials Breakfast & Caucus – free to elected and appointed public officials registered for the conference – is part of a broader public officials program that includes 12 hours of certificate training.

Those wishing to register for the public officials program can do so online or on-site at the registration desk at the conference.

Media note: Accredited members of the media may attend ACE18 at no charge. However, they are required to register with AWWA Communications. For media registration, please visit the AWWA Press Room or contact Deirdre Mueller at 303-347-6140.

Established in 1881, the American Water Works Association is the largest nonprofit, scientific and educational association dedicated to managing and treating water, the world’s most important resource. With approximately 51,000 members, AWWA provides solutions to improve public health, protect the environment, strengthen the economy and enhance our quality of life.