The US Water Alliance last night awarded the US Water Prize to: Aurora Water, for its Prairie Waters program; Kohler, for its water sustainability efforts; and, Change the Course, for its national freshwater restoration campaign. This year, the Alliance added two new categories to the US Water Prize, Outstanding Journalism on the Value of Water and Outstanding Public Official. Those awards were given to Mark Schleifstein, for his decades of reporting on water and the environment at the New Orleans Times-Picayune, and Adam Putnam, for his work as Florida Commissioner of Agriculture.
Radhika Fox, CEO of US Water Alliance said: “Awarding the US Water Prize to an incredibly deserving group of organizations and individuals is one of the highlights of our work. The Alliance created the US Water Prize to shine a light on the exemplary work happening in the water sector across the country. Congratulations to our winners-you inspire us to secure a sustainable water future for all.”
Kevin Shafer, Executive Director, Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewer District and Chairman of the Board, US Water Alliance said: “The US Water Prize gives us the opportunity to celebrate the innovative and sustainable approaches to water management happening all over the country. Our Water Prize winners know that tackling our nation’s water problems is no easy task. But they show us that it’s possible. If we work together, leverage our resources, and remain persistent in the pursuit of breakthroughs.”
The awards ceremony took place last night at the historic Civic Theater in New Orleans and kicked off One Water Summit 2017. Convened by the US Water Alliance, the One Water Summit 2017 brings together 600 water leaders from across the country to network, engage in dialogues about the most pressing topics in water, and to bring actionable ideas back home.
The US Water Alliance thanks our independent review panel for their hard work in choosing the winners of this year’s awards:
o Joel Beauvais, Partner, Latham & Watkins LLP o Mark LeChevallier, Vice President and Chief Environmental Officer, American Water o Brian Pallasch, Managing Director for Government Relations and Infrastructure Initiatives, American Society of Civil Engineers o Kevin Shafer, Executive Director, Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District o Jumana Vasi, Vice Chair, Environmental Grantmakers Association
