It is the first place we go.” A colleague had just reached a milestone in a significant utility project and was calling me to talk about it. “David, AWWA is the first place we go when we are stuck and need to connect to the right networks and the best technical material. Thanks—AWWA really came through for me and my customers.”

Her comments were helpful reminders of how AWWA makes a difference for its members. In this case, we connected my colleague to some of our technical materials and water sector experts; AWWA does that a lot. The combination was just what she needed for a successful outcome.

My colleague, the general manager of a Pacific Northwest water and sewer utility, had several other points, a few of which—especially as we are wrestling with so many unknowns—I want to share with you because I think they are good reminders for all of us.

“In the water profession,” she said, “people care about each other, help each other, and share knowledge with each other. The AWWA standards, manuals, and publications are like gold for us. They are a repository where the water community has shared its expertise to create sources of knowledge that benefit all water professionals throughout time,” she continued. “This is especially important in difficult times—like right now.”

AWWA offers 70 manuals of water supply practice and, for more than a century, has provided the water community with its standards, which include 189 product and management standards. Both are created by committees of water experts, with the intended audience being the water community. Each of these golden best‐practice resources undergoes a rigorous review process to ensure reliability. And now manuals and standards are transitioning to digital platforms so that they can be accessed from any device at any time. This is especially helpful while many of us are working from home.

“Also, I appreciate that AWWA is there for us in all stages of our careers,” my colleague added. “What I need as a general manager is different from what younger water professionals need. That is why my utility buys memberships for our younger employees—I want them to engage, build networks, and learn from others. Part of my job, after all, is to ensure that the next generation is prepared.”

For a decade now I have met with AWWA Young Professionals. My colleague is right—I, too, have seen them grow professionally and form strong professional networks that will serve them throughout their water careers. Frankly, today's young and younger professionals are experts at growing with AWWA; they leverage every opportunity they get. It is common for them to share the news of their career advancements and tie their achievements to what they have learned as an AWWA Young Professional.

I mentioned to my colleague that I was concerned that in times such as now, when budgets are tight, employers would decide to save money by suspending memberships for their employees. “It is true that in difficult times, leaders have to make difficult decisions,” she replied, “but because the sustainability of water service is critical to the communities we serve, we must constantly have access to the most important and current water policies, practices, and technical knowledge—if we don't, we will be behind the curve. In multiple ways it is membership in AWWA that helps with this and as a result, our utility is better able to serve our customers. Membership is essential because falling behind is not an option.”

I also received good news from one of AWWA's Canadian utility members. This time the success story involved how AWWA's personal support, along with our technical and policy resources, was critical in seeking regulatory authority to use rate revenue to pay for the removal of the private portion of a customer's lead service line.

You might wonder how AWWA's guidance on lead service lines helps a Canadian utility since it doesn't have to comply with the US Environmental Protection Agency's Lead and Copper Rule? The information that AWWA provides on lead service lines is generally applicable anywhere because it focuses on best practices and AWWA's core principle of protecting the public's health. Certainly, the specifics of the policy should be adjusted for local conditions, but that is often the case in the United States as well.

I hope you find these stories of AWWA's value to the success of your work to be as refreshing as I do. I realize that the challenges we are facing today are not like those of any other time. And I want to assure you that AWWA will continue to be there with you—whenever you need us.

这是我们去的第一个地方。” 一位同事刚刚在一个重要的公用事业项目中达到了一个里程碑，并呼吁我谈论它。“戴维，AWWA是我们陷入困境并需要连接到正确的网络和最佳技术材料时的第一站。谢谢！AWWA确实为我和我的客户带来了成功。”

她的评论有力地提醒了AWWA如何为其会员带来变化。在这种情况下，我们将我的同事与我们的一些技术材料和水务专家联系在一起；AWWA经常这样做。这正是她取得成功所需要的。

我的同事是西北太平洋供水和下水道公用事业公司的总经理，还有其他几点，尤其是在我们与众多未知数搏斗的过程中，我想与大家分享一下，因为我认为它们对所有人都有很好的提醒作用我们。

她说：“在水行业，人们互相关心，互相帮助并彼此分享知识。AWWA标准，手册和出版物对我们来说就像金子。它们是一个存储库，水社区分享了其专业知识，以创建知识资源，从而使所有水专业人员长期受益。”她继续说道。“这在像现在这样的困难时期尤其重要。”

AWWA提供了70份供水实践手册，并且一个多世纪以来，它已经为水社区提供了其标准，其中包括189种产品和管理标准。两者都是由水专家委员会创建的，目标受众是水社区。这些黄金的最佳实践资源均经过严格的审查，以确保可靠性。现在，手册和标准正在过渡到数字平台，以便可以随时通过任何设备对其进行访问。这在我们许多人在家工作时特别有用。

我的同事补充说：“此外，我很欣赏AWWA在我们职业生涯的各个阶段为我们服务。” “作为总经理，我所需要的与年轻水务专业人员所需要的有所不同。这就是为什么我的公用事业为年轻雇员购买会员资格的原因-我希望他们参与，建立网络并向他人学习。毕竟，我的部分工作是确保为下一代做好准备。”

十年来，我已经与AWWA青年专业人员会面。我的同事是对的-我也已经看到他们在专业上成长，并形成了强大的专业网络，将为他们在整个供水事业中提供服务。坦白地说，当今越来越年轻的专业人​​员是AWWA成长的专家。他们利用获得的每一个机会。他们通常会分享自己职业发展的消息，并将自己的成就与作为AWWA青年专业人士所学的知识联系在一起。

我向我的同事提到，我担心在现在这样的时期，当预算紧张时，雇主会决定通过暂停其雇员的会员资格来节省金钱。她回答说：“的确，在困难时期，领导人必须做出艰难的决定，但是由于水服务的可持续性对我们所服务的社区至关重要，因此我们必须不断获得最重要和最新的水政策，实践和技术知识-如果我们不这样做，我们将处于落后状态。AWWA的成员资格以多种方式对此提供帮助，因此，我们的实用程序能够更好地为我们的客户提供服务。成员资格至关重要，因为落后是不可行的。”

我还从AWWA的一位加拿大公用事业成员那里收到了好消息。这次，成功案例涉及AWWA的个人支持以及我们的技术和政策资源，对于寻求监管机构使用费率收入来支付客户的潜在客户服务线的私有部分的支付至关重要。

您可能想知道AWWA的铅服务线指南如何帮助加拿大的公用事业公司，因为它不必遵守美国环境保护局的铅和铜规则？AWWA在主要服务线上提供的信息通常适用于任何地方，因为它侧重于最佳实践和AWWA保护公众健康的核心原则。当然，应根据当地情况调整政策的具体细节，但在美国也是如此。

我希望您能像我一样，发现有关AWWA对您的工作成功的价值的故事。我意识到，我们今天面临的挑战与以往任何时候都不一样。我想向您保证，无论何时需要，AWWA都会继续与您​​同在。