The future of the American Water Works Association (AWWA) will continue to flow smoothly with the transition to new President-Elect Andrew W. Richardson, a water industry advocate with Chicago roots and whose father held this prestigious position two decades ago.
"With more than 57,000 members, the AWWA is the largest organization of water supply professionals in the world," Richardson said. "I look forward to the roles and responsibilities of leading [AWWA]."
Richardson is a principal and director at Greeley and Hansen LLC, an environmental engineering firm specializing in water, wastewater and solid waste management. Richardson has been a member of AWWA for nearly 20 years and has served as AWWA vice president for the past two years in addition to serving on the board of directors and executive committee.
"The AWWA has three main goals," he explained. "We will continue our efforts of constantly monitoring where the water industry is going and develop programs that are ahead of those trends to provide value to anyone in the water profession. Second, the AWWA also will continue its advocacy programs to educate key decision makers about the issues facing the water industry and the resulting effect on the general public. Third, we want to make the AWWA more attractive to young professionals so we can continue to infuse the water industry with the best talent."
In order to attain the goals set forth by Richardson, he said the AWWA will need to continue its focus on key stakeholders such as owners and operators of water utilities, government regulators, educators, manufacturers and consultants who develop plans and specifications to improve water quality.
"The AWWA has approximately 250 committees configured to address the different issues within the water industry such as infrastructure status, water rates and charges, environmental regulations and quality management," Richardson said.
Source: Greeley and Hansen
