What Happens When the Water Runs Out?

The hybrid live-virtual Next Generation Water Summit runs June 15-16 and will address tough questions around water conservation. 

Water is a critical resource to the viability of cities in the West. With growth, the drought, and diminishing supplies of locally sourced water, it is not guaranteed to always be there. 

What happens if it is not there? Las Vegas found itself in this situation when the largest wildfire in New Mexico history was followed by a wetter than usual monsoon season. Debris from the fire inundated the City’s water system leaving their reservoirs without clean water.

“2022 has taught Northern New Mexico hard lessons”, states Louie Trujillo, Mayor of Las Vegas, NM. “After the largest wildfire in our state’s history, communities were faced with an enormous water crisis. Through the ashes, we rise. Las Vegas will soon be known as the water technology center of New Mexico. 

With state of the art water projects, some of which are the first in New Mexico, we continue to forge new pathways for water security.”

Join us in a conversation with the Mayor of Las Vegas and hear first-hand how this situation played out and the extraordinary measures taken to address it. 

“I’m looking forward to interviewing Mayor Trujillo on the first day of the Summit”, says Next Generation Water Summit co-chair, Glenn Schiffbauer. “Can you imagine, after dodging a bullet with a devastating fire, to be told that you’ve got to ask your constituents to only use 44 gallons of water a day?”

The Next Generation Water Summit is June 15-16 and will feature over 25 different live sessions from speakers around the U.S., in addition to an on-demand library of educational offerings. All sessions will be viewable online and available for up to 30 days after the Summit. 

The NGWS is hybrid this year, offering both in-person as well as virtual attendance. In addition, there will be educational and fun activities prior to the event and live tours post-event.

Click here to register or for more information.

Hosts of the Next Generation Water Summit are the Santa Fe Green Chamber of Commerce; Green Builder Coalition; City of Santa Fe; KUELWater, and the Santa Fe Area Homebuilder’s Association. The Presenting sponsors for this year’s NGWS are PNM and AVANGRID. Sustaining sponsor is Pattern Energy. Keynote sponsors are Bernalillo County, Santa Fe County, Environmental Defense Fund, EMA, Las Campanas Water Cooperative, and the Water Finance Exchange. The education partner is Santa Fe Community College, and the national media partner is Green Builder Media.