WLI 2025 Final Project: Resilient Leadership for Water Access Challenges

Each year the final project is a major part of the Water Leadership Institute. The WLI 2025 cohorts wrote articles on turning challenges into strengths through resilient leadership.

For many water quality professionals, whose expertise lies in water and wastewater treatment or conveyance, issues like water rights may seem abstract. They may think, “My focus is on water quality every day, what would I know about water rights?” In reality, in order to maintain resiliency in today’s water landscape, it is essential to recognize how deeply water quality and water quantity are intertwined.

This article explores a few key questions: What does resilient leadership look like, and how can it turn challenges into opportunities? And how does water quantity interface with water quality?

Connecting Quality and Quantity

For most of American history, water quantity and water quality were managed separately. Water resource managers handled allocation and rights, while utilities ensured compliance and safety. This division seemed reasonable and generally worked when supplies were stable and demands were lower. Today, however, droughts, flooding, climate shifts, and rising population/demands reveal critical weaknesses in this separation.

Declining source waters concentrate pollutants, increase treatment challenges, and expose vulnerabilities in aging infrastructure. Across North America, communities face scarcity, not only in the traditionally dry West, but also in the Eastern US once thought to have ample supply. The reality is that water quality cannot be assured without also addressing quantity. Meeting this challenge requires more than technical fixes, it demands resilient leadership which crosses jurisdictions, disciplines, and assumptions to protect health, ecosystems, and communities.

Regional Differences and Leadership

Riparian Water Rights

In the Eastern US, riparian rights dominate. If your land borders a river or lake, you may use the water as long as it is reasonable and does not impede your neighbors. This “buffet” concept is generally workable given substantial water sources, but disputes can arise when defining “reasonable use.”

A major example of a dispute in the Eastern US is the Tri-State Water Wars between Alabama, Florida, and Georgia over the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin. Georgia’s population growth and resulting water consumption sparked claims from Florida that its fisheries were harmed. Though this conflict is often framed as a gridlock, recent actions suggest that leadership is beginning to collaborate and innovate. In 2024, Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division (EPD) lifted a 12-year moratorium on agricultural withdrawal permits in parts of the Flint Basin. Unlike the past, new permits include drought safeguards, conservation triggers, and data-driven oversight. This example highlights resilient leadership by using science to adapt past decisions, updating policies with new knowledge, and communicating a long‑term, balanced vision.

Eastern US Water Leadership

The authors of this article were able to interview a resilient leader in the Eastern US water space, Anniestacia Denton, PE, CDT, IAM. Annestacia is a Utility Advisor with Moonshot Missions, based in Alabama, and in her interview she emphasizes the use of ‘humble listening’ to ensure knowledge and understanding of various community needs. She also stresses the importance of peer-to-peer knowledge sharing, where information and needs from one community can be transferred to another community facing similar issues or concerns.

Prior Appropriation Water Rights

The Western US relies on the prior appropriation system, or “first in time, first in right.” The first to put water to beneficial use holds priority, even over neighbors closer to the source. With scarcer supplies, this system often experiences extreme stress.

The most pressing case is the Colorado River crisis, a crisis which is currently threatening water supplies for millions, agricultural viability, aquatic ecosystems, and major hydropower generation.

Western US Water Leadership

Resilient leadership through drought and conflict, both of which are often present in the Western US, is challenging. The authors of this article were fortunate to be able to interview two leaders from the Western US on their experiences and takeaways.

• Justin Hildreth, Senior Water Resources Engineer with Eagle River Water & Sanitation District in Vail, Colorado, stresses communication with stakeholders (local governments, large users, and the public) to manage shortages. He emphasizes that public education is central, with outreach across newspapers, radio, events, and social media. His approach reflects resilient leadership through communication, transparency, and community engagement.
• Shivaji Deshmukh, PE, General Manager of the Inland Empire Utilities Agency (IEUA) in Chino, California, highlights innovation. Under his leadership, IEUA has advanced Indirect Potable Reuse (IPR), recycling wastewater into drinking water through advanced treatment and environmental buffers before conventional treatment. This reduces dependence on strained imports like the Colorado River. Yet IPR faces challenges, from regulatory complexity to public acceptance. To succeed, Shivaji stresses partnerships with communities, agencies, regulators, and permitting bodies. He notes that “every major regional project requires partnerships,” and that inclusive dialogue leads to better planning and preparedness.

Traits of Resilient Leadership

• Informed decision-making based on science and data
• Adaptation of old frameworks to meet new realities
• Clear, transparent communication with varied stakeholders
• Forming partnerships that bridge community, industry, and government boundaries
• Balancing short‑term needs with long‑term sustainability

Whether in the Eastern US or the West or somewhere in between, resilient leadership is not limited by geography or role. Policy reform in Georgia, humble listening in Alabama, drought mitigation in Colorado, and recycling innovation in California are all examples of leaders navigating complex, competing demands with adaptability and foresight.

Resilient leadership requires flexibility, integrity, and a willingness to unite across differences to meet shared challenges.

Toolkit for Action

All water professionals, whether working on treatment plants, policy, or communications, have a critical role in shaping the future of water. To build this capacity, the authors of this article, the Water Leadership Institute (WLI) Green Team 5, have created a “Toolkit for Action in Your Region”, designed to help professionals engage with water rights and access issues in practical ways.

The toolkit includes:

• Regional maps to visualize scarcity and allocation challenges
• Water efficiency measures for professional and personal settings, from design practices to lifestyle conservation
• Communication tools, such as interview guides and advocacy templates, to help professionals initiate dialogue across academic, governmental, utility, and community stakeholders

By applying these tools, professionals can lead within their organizations, take part in local decision-making, and foster sustainable practices in their communities.

This toolkit will be available for download on WEF’s website.

Closing

Resilient leadership is about more than technical expertise. It is about connecting water quality and water quantity, adapting in the face of changing realities, and empowering professionals at every level to lead through communication, innovation, and collaboration. The challenges are immense, but with resilient leadership, they can also become opportunities to transform water management into a more sustainable future. Remember, we are all downstream of someone! See you downriver!

Authors: Jayla Berry, Angel French, Madeleine (Madi) Harris, Lenai Hunter, Shawn Lin, Ed Makowski, and Juliana Mejia-Franco