Water is central to our lives and increasingly at the center of conversations across geographies, industries, and communities. I recently attended a presentation on water supply reliability by Nathan Foged, National Technology and Innovation Leader for Brown and Caldwell’s (BC’s) Water Resources practice. He described how reliability is shaped by the interplay of climate variability, storage systems, and demand patterns.
Our work starts by understanding how their existing systems are performing, what they need to achieve, and key supply-demand drivers, including applicable regulatory requirements and evolving compliance expectations. Rather than relying on a single predicted future, we apply scenario-based modeling to evaluate system performance across a wide range of plausible conditions.
We are seeing water demand increase quickly, alongside new and evolving regulatory expectations. These dynamics are prompting conversations with clients about supply diversification, storage, and conservation, and how to move forward in a way that aligns with both current requirements and what may be coming next.
This year’s WateReuse Symposium in Los Angeles brought together regulators, utilities, consultants, and industry leaders to advance the conversation around water reuse. BC, in collaboration with Hazen, leveraged the symposium to host a stakeholder engagement workshop in support of a State Water Reuse Regulatory Guide they are developing for the WateReuse Association and their project partners: the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies, the American Water Works Association, the National Association of Clean Water Agencies, and the Water Environment Federation. The session, led by 11 facilitators, convened 60–70 participants whose input will help inform the final guide.
This first-of-its-kind resource is intended to help utilities navigate evolving regulatory landscapes work with regulators to develop reuse frameworks that balance public health, environmental considerations, and community priorities.
Check out BC’s Fred Gerringer on The Water Online Show discussing the Guide that will change water reuse nationwide.
As the Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 federal budget process begins, communities and utilities are watching congressional support for State Revolving Funds amid proposed funding reductions and earmark pressures that could limit availability. These uncertainties, combined with rising costs and expanding capital needs, are making affordability the primary constraint on project delivery. Community resistance to rate increases is increasingly driving decisions to scale, delay, or redesign projects to remain financially viable. At the same time, growth from large water users is intensifying demand and prompting more transparent, equitable approaches to cost allocation. In response, utilities and major users are moving toward earlier coordination and integrated planning to balance economic development, regulatory requirements, resilience, and rate impacts.
The economics of water are increasingly shaped by affordability constraints, requiring shared responsibility and earlier coordination to align investment, manage risk, and support sustainable growth without overburdening ratepayers.
– Seema Chavan, Senior Director of Strategic Funding
Included in a FY 2027 draft plan outlining EPA priority questions is “How can EPA leverage automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to enhance operational efficiencies and support the Agency mission?” The aim is to identify common requirements between permit programs related to data collection, workflows, and coordination, as well as existing automation systems. State agencies also see AI as a way to reduce labor intensive permit reviews, especially for complex projects.
AI integration into the permitting process can serve as an incredible tool for streamlining workflows such as completeness and compliance review, but quality and sufficiency will likely remain more subjective. I’m optimistic that the technical expertise of our nation’s regulators can be better utilized if some of the time-consuming administrative tasks can be reduced.
-Melissa Boglioli, Compliance & Permitting National Technology and Innovation Leader