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A Municipal Guide to Organizing An Inter-Departmental Workshop on Integrated Water Management

Last updated: Jun 9, 2022

Summary

The Greater Lakes: Reconnecting the Great Lakes Water Cycle project explored and tested environmental and financial drivers for municipalities to adopt water conservation/efficiency and green infrastructure measures. Led by the Great Lakes Commission between 2013 and 2015 with funding support from the Great Lakes Protection Fund, this project identified several important lessons for improving how cities can manage and treat water flows.

Problem

Water systems in the United States are among the safest in the world and yet, the fragmented way in which most cities have managed water historically is not viable for handling the serious water challenges confronting urban areas across the nation today and into the future.

Breaking down silos is not easy. The departmentalized structure of municipal government can make it hard for civil servants to break out of their daily responsibilities to consider the greater impact of their individual department’s operations and policies.

Solution

There has been created a "Municipal Guide to Organizing an Inter-Departmental Workshop on Integrated Water Management. Breaking Down the Silos and Building a One Water Approach", whose purpose is 1) to inspire municipalities to start a conversation about an integrated approach to water management and 2) offer specific steps for organizing a workshop where that conversation can occur.

Outcome

The main outcome of the project was the municipal guide outlining practical steps in designing a workshop that will help begin breaking down municipal departmental silos – an important first step in integrating water supply, wastewater and stormwater as "one water" system.