At the OC Water Summit, Reliability Edged Out Collaboration for the Colorado River’s Future

CV Strategies Account Manager Jennifer Barnakian-Poland recently attended the 18th Annual OC Water Summit, the region’s premier water conference, held at the Westin South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa. Co-hosted by the Orange County Water District and the Municipal Water District of Orange County, this year’s summit carried the theme “Flow Forward: Securing Water Supply Through Innovation.”

The summit brought together many of our favorite friends and colleagues including water industry leaders, elected officials, business professionals, and community stakeholders to take on the most pressing water challenges facing Southern California. Sessions examined water supply reliability, policy innovation, emerging technologies, and sustainable solutions, offering attendees a clear view of how agencies are preparing for the years ahead.

Jennifer enjoyed a full day of insightful discussion and collaboration, learning from fellow colleagues and connecting with hundreds of professionals shaping the future of water in Southern California. These conversations build the relationships and shared understanding that public agencies rely on as they plan, invest, and engage their communities.  Most interesting was the real time polling, especially about the Colorado River!  When asked what will matter most for the Basin’s future, attendees ranked long term investments in reliability first followed closely by the collaboration among Basin states.

As CV Strategies marks its 20th year serving public agencies, events like this keep our team closely connected to the issues our water district partners navigate every day. We thank OCWD and MWDOC for convening the region, and we look forward to bringing today’s insights into our client work.