AWWA President Highlights AI and Affordability as Key Focus Areas for Water Utilities
The American Water Works Association (AWWA) is focusing on leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance water utility operations and address affordability challenges. AWWA President Brent Tippey, in a discussion with Bob Crossen, Vice President of Content Strategy for the water and energy groups, outlined the organization's priorities for the coming year. Tippey emphasized the importance of AI in improving utility operations and making AWWA's extensive resources more accessible to its members. The conversation also highlighted the mounting pressures on utilities, such as infrastructure investment, emerging contaminants, workforce development, and cybersecurity risks. Affordability remains a central challenge as utilities strive to balance competing priorities while maintaining reasonable costs for customers. Tippey aims to strengthen member engagement, advance AI understanding across the industry, and increase AWWA's visibility in regulatory and policy discussions. 
