Plenary Luncheon

By Paulo R. Heyman

The Co-Chairs of the Urban Water Council (UWC), Wilmington Mayor James Sills and Lynn Mayor Pat McManus, spoke at the plenary luncheon on Friday, January 28th, at the 68th Winter Meeting. Mayor McManus announced the infrastructure needs for water and wastewater facilities of the United States to be $1 trillion for the next 10 years. He asserted that investing in new technology could drastically lessen this figure. Working with the Urban Water Council and private partners can provide mayors with information and technology to address City water needs.

Mayor Sills urged that the UWC needed a critical mass of mayors in order to have their voice heard on Capitol Hill. Mayor Sills wants to see financial needs met as well as a liberalization of the laws and policies against forging private partnerships for water and wastewater facilities. He announced the 2000 Urban Water Summit would meet October 5th and 6th in St. Petersburg, FL. Three UWC training seminars will take place this year, with the first seminar in Boston on March 29th. For information on joining the Urban Water Council, attending training seminars or the Urban Water Summit, or for UWC publications, please contact Paulo R. Heyman at (202) 861-6780.