Agenda Finalized for 2026 Next Generation Water Summit

The agenda for the 2026 Next Generation Water Summit (NGWS) will consist of 26 live sessions, including the debut of a track devoted to rural topics.

Brett Walton, an award-winning reporter for Circle of Blue, will kick off Thursday, June 11 with a keynote titled “Colorado River in Crisis”. “With recent record heat and scant snow in the mountains, this is a pivotal year for one of the country’s most important river basins,” Walton states.

The keynote will be followed by a session on large water users, presented by Joan Hughes of the Alliance for Water Efficiency (AWE) and Anjali Bean of Western Resource Advocates. Day 1 will also include presentations on AI’s role in managing water; how to integrate water into the sustainability conversation; a panel session on produced water research; the introduction of a new standard for water audits of existing homes; a new irrigation efficiency credential; and more.

Friday, June 12 will feature a keynote designed to fill our attendees with hope and encouragement. Three concurrent tracks will give attendees a wide variety of choices over the course of Day 2. The New Mexico track, a staple of the Summit, will provide an update on the City of Santa Fe’s efforts and a recap of the most recent legislative session. The national track will highlight a project on existing home water assessments; a science and innovation panel; and community scale adoption of rainwater harvesting. Finally, the 2026 NGWS will unveil the Rural track, with sessions on soil’s role in saving water; local decentralized water systems and more.

Early bird pricing, with a fee of $199 for in-person and $79 for virtual attendance, will expire on May 1. Free community tours will take place on June 13.

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.

Registration is available for in-person or virtual attendance, and all registrants will be able to access on-demand sessions. For more information on the Summit, please go to www.NextGenerationWaterSummit.com. To get the latest updates, please link with us at www.linkedin.com/in/next-generation-water-summit

Hosts of the Next Generation Water Summit are New Mexico Sustainable Business; Green Builder Coalition; City of Santa Fe and KUELwater. The Alliance for Water Efficiency is a promotional partner, the national media partner is Green Builder Media and the education partner is Triconic, with additional support from Santa Fe County for rural track programming.