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Abstract: 

As the saying attributed to Mark Twain goes, “Whiskey is for Drinking and Water is for Fighting”, but where has all the water gone? Water issues are now regular headline news stories especially in Western states with record low levels at Lake Mead and Lake Powell. This panel examines factors that may be disrupting or altering the water cycle, how the related engineering and resource management challenges might be met in the future, and finally, what types of water system projects investors in municipal debt markets might want to focus on when considering the steady and reliable delivery of this vital and necessary resource. Matt Hilliard is Senior Credit Analyst with Thrivent. Brett Bovee is the President of WestWater Research. Dr. Erika Smull is a municipal research analyst at Breckinridge Capital Advisors in Boston, Massachusetts. Mary Ellen Winkler is the Assistant Executive Director with the St. Johns River Water Management District. This article is based on a panel by the same title presented at the 2023 Annual Conference of the National Federation of Municipal Analysts, held May 16-19, 2023.

Keywords: Water Cycle Supply and Demand; Infrastructure; Water Rights; Colorado River Compact; Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCL); PFAS (Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances)

Affiliations:  1: Thrivent; 2: WestWater Research; 3: Breckinridge Capital Advisors; 4: St. Johns River Water Management District.