Canadian Water Network (CWN) convened the 2024 Spring Consortium Leaders Group (CLG) meeting in Edmonton last week from May 2-3. This gathering, which occurs twice a year, provides senior leaders in the water sector with a platform to exchange insights about pressing challenges water utilities face across the country.

The Spring meeting, co-hosted by EPCOR and ARROW Utilities, brought together over 30 municipal leaders representing 19 utilities from coast to coast. The agenda covered topics related to business continuity, emergency planning, and innovative capital and procurement strategies. These discussions underscored the growing need for water leaders to continuously evolve conventional approaches to maintain community water services, especially in response to growing uncertainty from climate change, aging infrastructure, economic conditions and growth pressures.

Key moments from the meeting spotlighted the power of peer-to-peer learning in a safe space and the importance of proactive decision-making. Participants engaged in a robust dialogue about navigating the unknown, emphasizing the delicate balance between being prepared and remaining nimble in a rapidly changing world.

Thank you to the Canadian Municipal Water Consortium and Bird Construction for sponsoring this meeting.