The American Water Works Association (AWWA), is an international nonprofit scientific and educational society for the improvement of drinking water quality and supply. AWWA is the largest organization of water supply professionals in the world, representing the drinking water community: water treatment plant operators and managers, water scientists, environmentalists, water treatment system manufacturers, academics, water regulators, and all with interest in water supply and public health. Membership includes more than 4,000 water utilities that supply water to roughly 180 million people in North America.
The American Water Works Association is defined by six core competencies; advocacy for safe drinking water, water communications, water conferences, water education and training, water science and technology, and AWWA sections.
Safe drinking water advocacy includes the Water Utility Council or WUC made up of AWWA members concerned about drinking water legislation and regulation. The WUC develops action programs within the framework of AWWA policy, on water legislation, water regulation, and other water priorities, which affect water utilities and encourage provision of safe water service to the consumer. AWWA has recently addressed MTBE pollution and MTBE contamination liability.
Water communication includes the AWWA e-journal, the electronic version of the AWWA Journal. E-Mainstream, WaterWeek, Opflow, presenting new or established water treatment technologies that readers can apply to drinking water treatment and distribution, and breaking water news which reports water headlines.
The AWWA E-Mainstream includes section on water employment called waterjobs, a water jobs site for the water utility employment, Waterweek, a weekly water report, Washington Report, reporting water legislation, and a link to Water For People, an international, nonprofit, development organization committed to the long-term impact of increased access to safe drinking water and improved sanitation and health.
AWWA water conferences include the 2004 Inorganic Contaminants Workshop that explores how water utilities can go from contaminant identification to treatment technology selection and full-scale system implementation by taking advantage of the latest research and practical water treatment industry experience. It includes sessions on the inorganics regulatory horizon, how to implement treatment to remove inorganic contaminants, challenges associated with managing residuals produced by inorganic treatment processes, the latest on emerging contaminants such as perchlorate and chromium VI (hexavalent chrome), advances in arsenic treatment technology and the USEPA small system strategy, full-scale experience with membrane desalination, new techniques for dealing with well-known contaminants such as iron, manganese, and nitrate, and contaminant accumulation in distribution systems.