Tuesday, August 4, 2026

7:00 AM

Registration Open & Breakfast at Fritz Knoebel Events Center at University of Denver

9:00 AM

Tour of Denver Water’s Marston Water Treatment Plant (details developing)

12:00 PM

Networking Luncheon at Fritz Knoebel Events Center at University of Denver

1:00 PM

Opening Keynote: Implementing AWWA’s Water2050 Initiatives, Drought Contingency Financing & More

David LaFrance, Chief Executive Officer, American Water Works Association (AWWA)

1:30 PM

Assessing AWWA’s ‘Beyond the Replacement Era’ Report: What the Findings Mean for Your System

Greg Baird, MPA, Principal Utility Financial Consultant, Black & Veatch

2:00 PM

Rent Due: Implementing a Capacity Rental Charge to Curb Overuse and Protect Future Supply

Elizabeth Gillitzer-Gallardo, Manager of Rates and Charges, Aurora Water

Jason Mumm, Sr. Director of Infrastructure Finance, Brown & Caldwell

2:30 PM

Break

3:00 PM

Enhancing Affordability and Customer Assistance Program Access in the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District

Ken Duplay, Chief Financial Officer, Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District

3:30 PM

From Spreadsheet Chaos to Financial Clarity: How Laguna Beach Transformed Capital Program Management

Heather Rhee, Manager of Engineering, Laguna Beach County Water District (CA)

4:00-5:00 PM

Panel Discussion: Balancing Customer Affordability & Evolving Regional Water Challenges

  • Ken Duplay, Chief Financial Officer, Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District
  • Mandy Lemig, Budget & Policy Coordinator, City of Westminster, CO
  • Pieter Van Ry, Director, South Platte Renew and City of Englewood Utilities

5:00-6:30 PM

Evening Reception

Wednesday August 5, 2026

7:00 AM

Registration Open & Breakfast

8:00-9:00

Morning Panel – Data Centers & Municipal Water: Challenge or Huge Opportunity?

  • Lauren Barbir, Associate Vice President & Business Development Director, HDR

9:00-9:30

A.I. Primer

Tacoma Zach, Co-founder & CEO, MentorAPM

9:30-10:00

Break

10:00-10:30

Advanced Metering Infrastructure in Tucson

Silvia Amparano, Deputy Director, Tucson Water

10:30-11:00

The AMI Project Planning Illusion

Jacob Jasperson, Senior Advisor, UMS

10:30-11:00

Update on Federal Funding, Spending Authorizations, and Inflation Impacts

Presented by the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA)

11:00-12:00

Panel – Federal Funding Discussion: Status of Federal Programs & Overcoming Local Implementation Hurdles

Moderated by: Cole Sullivan, Consultant, Stantec

  • Ryan Patton, AVP-Analyst, Global Project and Infrastructure Finance, Moody’s Ratings
  • Sarah Stone, Deputy Director – Business Solutions and Engineering, City of Englewood, CO

12:00-1:00

Networking Luncheon at Fritz Knoebel Events Center at University of Denver

1:00-1:30

Targeted Wastewater Affordability Programs at Louisville MSD

Yozette Borges, Revenue and Collections Manager, Louisville MSD

Debra Johnson, Customer Assistance Program Administrator, Louisville MSD

1:30-2:00

How to Increase Revenue Without Raising Rates

Gary Sanders, Utility Billing Consultant

2:00-3:00

The Future of Water Reuse: Short and Long-Term Outlook

3:00-3:30

Conference Wrap-Up: Thoughts on Current Potential for Consolidation/Regionalization/Privatization & Open Discussion

Greg Baird, MPA, Principal Utility Financial Consultant, Black & Veatch