PHILADELPHIA, PA, Oct. 1, 2007 -- American Water Works Association (AWWA) President Nilaksh Kothari and National Rural Water Association (NRWA) President Rodney Tart last week signed a Memo of Understanding affirming each association's common goals and declaring their intent to work more closely together in the future.
"AWWA is truly committed to developing this working relationship with NRWA," Kothari said. "Both organizations will benefit from each other's strengths, and this new era of cooperation and coordination will ultimately serve consumers from communities of all sizes."
The MOU, signed during NRWA's Annual Conference in Philadelphia, Penn., states that the respective presidents of each association will meet at least twice a year and will appoint a joint work group to develop an annual action plan to fulfill the intent of the agreement. The group will also review the implementation of the MOU, hold formal partnering sessions and recommend amendments.
"It is important that our respective organizations continue to seek opportunity in areas where we can find mutual agreement," Tart said. "I am encouraged by this new collaborative effort to advance the water industry."
The MOU states that the associations' common goals are to advance education, science and technology; to disseminate technical information and provide training assistance; to increase public understanding; to promote sound public policy, and to improve trust and confidence between AWWA and NRWA.
AWWA is an authoritative resource for knowledge, information, and advocacy to improve the quality and supply of water in North America and beyond.
The National Rural Water Association is a non-profit federation of State Rural Water Associations. Its mission is to provide support services to our State Associations who have more than 25,735 water and wastewater systems as members.
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