Water leaders gathered at the Reservoir Center along the Anacostia River for World Water Day to discuss how water is increasingly shaping conversations around economic growth, AI, infrastructure, agriculture, and resilience. The opening session brought together voices from engineering, policy, technology, infrastructure advocacy, and government as water issues move closer to the center of national decision-making.

➡️ Josh Mahan — Xylem
Josh Mahan of Xylem opened the event by framing water as the force beneath many of society’s biggest challenges. Speaking from the Reservoir Center, now home to more than 80 water-focused nonprofit organizations, Mahan described the venue as a collaborative space designed to move conversations toward action on climate resilience, economic development, public health, and equity.

“What looks like a climate problem, an energy problem, an equity problem is almost always, at its core, a water problem as well.”

➡️ Maria Lehmann — American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
Maria Lehmann, interim executive director of ASCE, warned about the economic risks tied to aging water systems and fragmented governance. Referencing ASCE’s latest infrastructure report card, she noted that drinking water received a C-minus and wastewater a D-plus while arguing that AI growth, climate pressures, and water loss through leakage will further strain already stressed systems.

“How can we treat water as a strategic economic asset and value it that way?”

➡️ Ross van Dongen — United for Infrastructure
Ross van Dongen of United for Infrastructure focused on the growing recognition that water infrastructure is economic infrastructure. He described the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act as a major shift in expanding the national definition of infrastructure while warning that the United States still faces an estimated $3.4 trillion water infrastructure investment gap over the next two decades.

“Water is an environmental and public health critical resource here in the country, but also is an economic driver.”

➡️ Matthew Pine — Xylem
Xylem CEO Matthew Pine emphasized partnerships, sustainability, and global water security. He highlighted Xylem’s goal of helping provide water, sanitation, and hygiene access to 80 million people by 2030 while describing the Reservoir Center as neutral ground where utilities, nonprofits, companies, and policymakers can work through shared water challenges together.

“Our purpose is about empowering our customers and communities to build a more water secure world.”

➡️ Senator John Boozman — U.S. Senate
Senator John Boozman of Arkansas focused on the pressures facing rural America, where shrinking populations are leaving small towns with aging infrastructure but fewer resources to maintain it. He also stressed that water policy remains one of the few areas where bipartisan cooperation still regularly happens in Washington.

“The futurists, when you ask any futurist, they’ll say looking forward, the top two things always listed are energy and water.”

The opening session reflected a growing recognition that water is no longer viewed only as an environmental or utility issue. From AI and economic development to agriculture and resilience, speakers repeatedly pointed to water as a defining factor in how communities and industries plan for the future.

00:00 – Welcome & The Purpose of World Water Day
02:54 – Why Water Is Connected to Climate, Energy, Equity & Economic Growth | Josh Mahan, Xylem
05:21 – America’s Water Infrastructure Crisis & The Economic Cost of Inaction | Maria Lehmann, ASCE
14:21 – Water Infrastructure as Economic Infrastructure | Ross van Dongen, United for Infrastructure
20:00 – Building a More Water Secure World Through Partnership & Innovation | Matthew Pine, Xylem
23:34 – Senator John Boozman on Rural Water Challenges, Infrastructure Funding & Bipartisan Water Policy
35:35 – AI Growth, Water Infrastructure Funding & Technology Modernization
37:24 – Water Partnerships, Agriculture & Conservation Solutions
41:01 – Research, Innovation & Collaboration Between Engineering and Agriculture
42:56 – Closing Remarks & Call for Water Sector Advocacy

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