2025 Next Generation Water Summit
June 5th - June 6th    
8:30 am to 5:00 pm MT 
New Mexico State Capitol Building (The Roundhouse)

About the Event

June 5-6, 2025
New Mexico State Capitol Building (The Roundhouse)

The theme of the 2025 Next Generation Water Summit is "Increasing Resilience in an Unpredictable Climate".

The Next Generation Water Summit brings together the building and development community, water reuse professionals and water policymakers in a collaborative setting to share best practices and learn about innovative water conservation and water reuse techniques that can be used to comply with water conservation restrictions spreading across the southwest.

Agenda

time icon06/05/2025 08:30 am to
10:00 am

Keynote: Planning our Water Future

Location: 307

Former Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland will address her experience as a former Cabinet Secretary overseeing the Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, and the ongoing drought in the Western United States. As a 35th-generation indigenous New Mexican, she will also provide her thoughts on how conservation efforts and climate adaptation can meet the challenges of both today and tomorrow.

speaker headshot Deb Haaland
Former US Secretary of the Interior
time icon06/05/2025 10:15 am to
11:15 am

OpenET: Data for Water Resilience

Location: 307

OpenET is transforming water management in the western U.S. by making satellite-based evapotranspiration data widely accessible. This session will explore how OpenET leverages remote sensing and extensive evapotranspiration (ET) data to fill critical information gaps, empowering water managers, farmers, and policymakers to make smarter, more sustainable water decisions.

speaker headshot Sara Larsen
CEO, OpenET
time icon06/05/2025 11:30 am to
12:15 pm

Conservation Initiatives - Voluntary to Mandatory

Location: 307

This session will examine the current evolution of water conservation initiatives, tracing the shift from voluntary programs to mandatory regulations. We'll explore the factors driving this transition, including prolonged drought, population growth, and climate change, as well as the effectiveness of various approaches. Case studies from Soutwest Florida and Austin, Texas will highlight successes and challenges in implementing mandatory policies at the local and state levels. Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of how policy, enforcement, and public engagement shape the future of sustainable water use.

speaker headshot Robin Grantham
Lead Communications Coordinator, Southwest Florida Water Management District
speaker headshot Katherine Jashinski
Supervising Engineer, Austin Water
time icon06/05/2025 11:30 am to
12:15 pm

Envisioning a New Water Utility

Location: 317

Water utilities today face a growing set of challenges—aging infrastructure, environmental degradation, volatile demand, and climate-driven uncertainty—that are reshaping how they operate and plan for the future. In this context, and amid the rise of decentralized, multi-benefit projects and the gradual disruption of the traditional business model, this session will explore how the sector now has a critical opportunity to reimagine a more adaptive, resilient, and innovative utility model. The new water utility is one that proactively addresses future risks while meeting the evolving needs of communities and the environment.

speaker headshot Newsha Ajami
Chief Strategy And Development Officer For Research, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
time icon06/05/2025 01:00 pm to
01:45 pm

Right-Sizing, Water Auditing & Water Management: The Data Intersection

Location: 317

In order to improve building water systems' efficiency and safety, data will be key. In this presentation, Christoph Lohr, PE will review efforts by IAPMO to right-size pipes, and to create a commercial building version of the Water Demand Calculator, and how water auditing to maximize sustainability and water management programs to improve water safety could be key to overall improvements. There are opportunities for water auditors and water safety consultants to make a massive impact outside of their main work. In this session participants will learn what the benefits are and also how to be part of the movement to achieve it. 

speaker headshot Christoph Lohr
Vice President of Technical Services and Research, IAPMO
time icon06/05/2025 01:00 pm to
01:45 pm

Do Smart Meters Save Water?

Location: 309

This session explores the effectiveness of smart water meters in promoting water conservation. We’ll examine how smart meter technology works, what data it provides, and how utilities and consumers can use that information to detect leaks, adjust usage habits, and manage demand. Drawing on case studies and research findings, the session will evaluate whether smart meters truly lead to measurable water savings and under what conditions they are most effective. Attendees will gain a clearer understanding of the benefits, limitations, and best practices for leveraging smart meter data to support sustainable water use.

speaker headshot Pete Rippee
Senior Category Manager, Moen
speaker headshot John Higdon
Director of Standards Development, IAPMO
time icon06/05/2025 02:00 pm to
02:45 pm

Fight, Flight or Build it Right

Location: 309

This session features a residential builder discussing the opportunities and challenges of incorporating water conservation into home design and construction. The presenter will share real-world experiences, from selecting efficient fixtures and appliances to integrating greywater systems, drought-tolerant landscaping, and smart irrigation technologies. The discussion will also address market demand, cost considerations, and evolving building codes related to water efficiency. Attendees will gain practical insights into how builders are responding to water scarcity and designing homes that are both sustainable and appealing to today’s environmentally conscious homeowners.

speaker headshot Jacob Atalla
VP, Sustainability Initiatives at KB Home
time icon06/05/2025 02:00 pm to
02:45 pm

Resiliency and the NEW Comfort

Location: 317

Modern lifestyles and urban development have disrupted Nature’s water cycle. Daily actions like flushing toilets, adding impermeable surfaces, and displacing natural ecosystems affect watersheds and community health. But is there a better way? Building resilience—our ability to adapt—can help us find new, more sustainable ways to live. In this conversation, we explore how aligning our lives with the water cycle can restore watershed health, strengthen communities, and foster a culture that respects Nature, people, and place.

speaker headshot Joaquin Murrieta-Saldivar
Cultural Ecologist Director, Watershed Management Group
time icon06/05/2025 03:00 pm to
03:45 pm

Missing Money - Funding for Water Conservation

Location: 309

This session will examine the current landscape of water conservation funding. While established and robust financing mechanisms are available for energy efficiency programs, water conservation efforts frequently face fragmented funding, limited program visibility, and regulatory hurdles. The session will discuss the challenges water-focused projects encounter in securing financial support, and explore strategies to elevate water’s profile in sustainability and infrastructure investment conversations.

speaker headshot Kevin Reidy
Senior State Water Efficiency Specialist, Colorado Water Conservation Board
speaker headshot Andrew Erdmann
Water Planner, New Mexico Interstate Stream Commission
time icon06/05/2025 03:00 pm to
03:45 pm

Water-Energy/Energy-Water Nexus

Location:317
speaker headshot Amanda Hatherly
CEO, Building Performance Institute
speaker headshot Holly Cannon
Environmental Scientist, Eastern Research Group, Inc.
time icon06/05/2025 04:00 pm to
04:45 pm

Top 10 Ideas for Water Conservation Research Projects

Location: 307
speaker headshot Doug Pushard
Founder, KuelWater
time icon06/06/2025 08:30 am to
10:00 am

Friday Keynote: What I Dream

Location: 307

This presentation will explore key policy and research areas in water sustainability and climate resilience that have been talked about for years, but which still remain unfinished work. I will give my own perspective on what I think is most important.

speaker headshot Mary Ann Dickinson
Director, Land and Water Policy for the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
time icon06/06/2025 10:15 am to
11:15 am

IAPMO National Water Auditor Certification Program

Location: 309

The commercial water sector represents a large water conservation target, but to date it has been illusive in building a cost-effective program to capture this potential savings. Part of the problem has been a lack of broad professional training for professionals to perform assessments in a consistent, repeatable and verifiable way. In this presentation you will hear from the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) new first-ever Commercial Water Auditing Certification Program. This program trains water professionals in how to conduct water assessments for commercial systems, the role of water audits in addressing water scarcity, and practical strategies for improving water efficiency in the CI sector. IAPMO has partnered with top professionals from Maddaus Water Management, HW (Bill) Hoffman & Associates LLC, and Doug Pushard of KuelWater to provide hands-on, expert-led training. You will also hear from Carlos Bustos, from Maddaus Water Management on topics covered during this training as well as information on a companion class on How to Build a Successful CII Water Conservation Program.


speaker headshot Tony Marcello
Senior VP, Training and Credential Services for IAPMO
speaker headshot Carlos Bustos
Senior Water Resources Project Manager
time icon06/06/2025 10:15 am to
11:15 am

Overcoming Barriers to Greywater Adoption

Location: 307

Graywater is a critical tool for a secure water future. However, many barriers impede the use of this resource. To address this, key industry leaders met to discuss these barriers and how to advance the market. This session will review the results from this pre-conference working meeting to share next steps and invite your participation in the future of graywater reuse.

speaker headshot Laura Allen
Co-founder, Greywater Action
time icon06/06/2025 11:30 am to
12:15 pm

Innovative Product Panel

Location: 309

New water savings technology will be part of our future. The technology thus far has enabled us to grow in many communities over the last decade without increasing water supplies. This panel will introduce three new technologies that may fit into our water conservation strategies.

RainStick Shower revolutionizes showering with innovative recirculating technology, saving up to 80% water and energy while delivering double the flow rate.

OMGEN is a conglomerate of water technologies and technology partners spanning wastewater and environmental clean-ups, solving municipal water quality challenges, including pharmaceutical waste, PFAS (microscopic plastics), and chemical wastewater treatment contaminants.

Water Catchment Technologies is developing drought ending catchment solutions, including rainwater harvesting for PV panels.

speaker headshot Alisha McFetridge
CEO, RainStick Shower
speaker headshot JP Nickell
Founder, OMGEN
speaker headshot James Kazmarek
Founder, CEO @ Water Catchment Technologies, Inc.
time icon06/06/2025 11:30 am to
12:15 pm

Graywater Multi-family and Commercial Regulations Across the US

Location: 307

This session will provide an overview of emerging greywater regulations for multi-family and commercial buildings across the United States. Attendees will learn how different states and municipalities define, permit, and regulate greywater reuse, with a focus on key variations in code requirements, system design standards, and approval processes. Also, hear about the partnerships with ICC, IAPMO and NSF. The session will also examine common challenges in implementing greywater systems at scale, including plumbing code limitations, health and safety concerns, and maintenance considerations. Case studies will highlight successful projects and innovative approaches to navigating regulatory landscapes. Finally, learn about oversight and management strategies as well and the latest from the National Blue Ribbon Commission (NBRC) and Building Infrastructure Locally for Decentralized Water Systems (BILD). This session is ideal for designers, builders, and policymakers seeking to expand greywater reuse in larger buildings.

speaker headshot Paula Kehoe
Director of Water Resources, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission
time icon06/06/2025 01:00 pm to
01:45 pm

Building Infrastructure for the Water Reuse Revolution

Location: 307

As extreme drought continues across the U.S., cities are protecting public freshwater resources with an innovative new strategy: by having buildings recycle their own wastewater. In 2024, Austin, TX adopted a comprehensive program to increase the use of recycled water in new commercial and multi-family developments through a mix or ordinances, incentives, and new funding mechanisms. Hear how one city in the semi-arid Southwest is changing the way buildings are designed and operated with non-potable water reuse systems to conserve precious drinking water supplies.

speaker headshot Katherine Jashinski
Supervising Engineer, Austin Water
time icon06/06/2025 01:00 pm to
01:45 pm

Measuring the Community’s Savings from Water Efficiency in Santa Fe

Location: 309

Since the early 1990s, water conservation has been an important part of the city of Santa Fe’s growth strategy. Using water efficiently has allowed the city to avoid or delay costly infrastructure projects by stretching its existing water resources further. Per capita water use has decreased by more than 40%, all while supporting more than a 25% increase in population since 1995 and helping to keep city and customer costs low. At the same time, using water efficiently has saved a tremendous amount of energy costs as well. The topography and sources of water available to the city means that every gallon of water delivered is accompanied by a significant electric bill. This study looks at detailed records across a three-year period 2021-2023. It considers variations in the various sources of water the city uses, water and energy consumed, and more to paint a detailed picture of what it takes to keep the taps on. It also presents a picture of just how large this bill may have been at 1990 consumption levels, and on what future trends may hold.

speaker headshot Jonah Schein
National Program Manager, EPA WaterSense
time icon06/06/2025 02:00 pm to
02:45 pm

Recirculating Shower Systems

Location: 307

Recirculating Showers offer water and energy savings by capturing, filtering, and reusing shower water in real time. This session will introduce and explore the potential of recirculating showers to contribute to high-efficiency building goals and drought resilience, as well as practical considerations for adoption in residential and commercial applications. The session will also discuss the development of IAPMO Z1398, the nascent standard for recirculating shower systems, and discuss how Z1398 supports the design, installation, and certification of compliant systems.

speaker headshot Alisha McFetridge
CEO, RainStick Shower
speaker headshot John Higdon
Director of Standards Development, IAPMO
time icon06/06/2025 02:00 pm to
02:45 pm

Solar Hot Water - Save Water, Save Energy

Location: 309

In this session, Rob draws on over 25 years of experience in designing and building solar and sustainable structures to explore the intersection of renewable energy and water conservation. Focusing on solar hot water systems, Rob will share practical strategies for reducing water use in residential and commercial buildings. Topics will include system design considerations, integration with efficient plumbing and recirculation technologies, and real-world examples of successful installations. Attendees will gain insights into how solar hot water can play a key role in sustainable building and long-term water resource savings.


speaker headshot Rob Althouse
SolarWise
time icon06/06/2025 03:00 pm to
03:45 pm

Closing Plenary

Location: 307

This session puts a bow on the 2025 Next Generation Water Summit, and includes the opportunity to get feedback from our attendees and thoughts on next year's Summit.


speaker headshot Doug Pushard
Founder, KuelWater
speaker headshot Mike Collignon
Executive Director
speaker headshot Glenn Schiffbauer
Executive Director
time icon06/06/2025 10:15 am to
11:15 am

Water Use and Conservation in Santa Fe: Past, Present and Future

Location: 317

Jesse Roach, City of Santa Fe’s Public Utilities Department Director, will provide an overview of the past, present, and future of water use and conservation in Santa Fe.  Topics covered will include the development of our diverse water supply portfolio, a nationally renowned conservation program, and how the City plans to continue to provide a safe, reliable and resilient water supply to meet the needs of the community into the next century.

speaker headshot Jesse Roach
Director of City of Santa Fe Water
time icon06/06/2025 11:30 am to
12:15 pm

Santa Fe City Update: What's Going on with Water

Location: 317

City of Santa Fe officials will be discussing the latest on their water conservation efforts. They will also take your questions.


speaker headshot Carol Romero-Wirth
Councilor
speaker headshot Christine Chavez
Water Conservation Manager, City of Santa Fe
speaker headshot Jesse Roach
Director of City of Santa Fe Water
time icon06/06/2025 01:00 pm to
01:45 pm

New Mexico Legislative Update

Location: 317

This session will focus on 2025 water management legislation, the funding approved, and an overview of forward-looking actions being taken to reform water governance structures, agencies, and mechanisms to secure our waters future.

speaker headshot Peter Wirth
State Senator
time icon06/06/2025 02:00 pm to
02:45 pm

Residential Green Building Code Update

Location: 317

Santa Fe has had a Green Building Code for over a decade.  This code is above and beyond the standard building code that applies to all builders in the state of New Mexico.  This Green code is mandatory and ensures our local buildings are more energy and water efficient than the National codes.  The Santa Fe Green Building Code is being updated to adopt the latest state codes as well as increase the water and energy efficiency of new residential, multi-family and homes that are being remodeled. This session will cover these updates that will go into effect next year.


speaker headshot Steve Onstad
Founder, EverGreen Building Solutions
speaker headshot Thomas Graham
Deputy Land Use Director, City of Santa Fe