At scales ranging from the neighborhood and city to the watershed and basin, some communities are doing the work of breaking down the silos in water management to increase sustainability and equitably maximize benefits across the community and watershed. So, what does “Integrated Water Management” mean for your watershed and your community? Where has it been used and what are the benefits and challenges? Can it help your community achieve “triple bottom line” (environmental, social and economic) benefits?

In this recorded webinar, you will learn how communities in Washington and San Francisco – driven by limited water resources – are seeking ways to integrate water management with other sectors and at varying scales, from the Basin to the building level.  Michael Garrity with the State of Washington discusses the Yakima Basin Integrated Water Resource Management plan where a diverse range of stakeholders including agriculture, the Yakama Nation, environmental groups and local, state and federal government agencies came together to develop a consensus plan to fairly manage the Basin’s water for fish, families and farms. John Scarpulla with the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission shares the city’s innovative approach to diversifying the city’s water portfolio and increasing resilience by using alternate on-site sources including rainwater, stormwater and gray water for non-potable uses like toilet flushing and irrigation.

This webinar was co-hosted by the Urban Waters Learning Network and is the third in River Network’s series on Integrated Water Management that covers multiple examples of how these approaches are taking root across the country. The speakers for this recorded session provide an overview of their work on Integrated Water Management including context, opportunities and application. A recording of the first session in the series, providing an overview of Integrated Water Management, can be viewed here.

Presenters:

Michael Garrity, Columbia Basin Mitigation Manager, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

John Scarpulla, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission