Mami Hara is the CEO of the US Water Alliance and formerly CEO of Seattle Public Utilities, as well as Deputy Commissioner at Philadelphia Water. Her diverse background also includes time as a visiting professor at MIT, an adjunct professor at Temple University, and principal at an urban planning and architecture firm. She has degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and the Harvard University. This experience uniquely qualifies her for a conversation with Mahesh Lunani about 21st Century Water. Topics covered include:
Career Highlights
Impact of the US Water Alliance
Strategies and Tactics to help people understand the value of water
Effects of the bi-partisan infrastructure bill
Shifting from the for-profit to non-profit sector
How to best combat climate change
The future of the water industry
Additional Resources:
US Water Alliance Website: http://uswateralliance.org/
Mami Hara Bio: http://uswateralliance.org/about/staff
Principles for Equitable Infrastructure Implementation: http://uswateralliance.org/resources/blog/introducing-principles-equitable-infrastructure-implementation
Water Utility Climate Alliance Strategic Plan:https://www.wucaonline.org/assets/pdf/about-strategic-plan-2026.pdf
Aquasight Website: https://aquasight.io/
Don: Tremendous challenges and opportunities exist right now for our nation's water infrastructure. In this podcast, the industry's top leaders and innovative minds share their knowledge and insights for ensuring our water systems are operating safely and efficiently. These discussions are designed to motivate and create vibrant 21st century water systems and the innovative workforce required to lead and operate.
This is 21st century water with your host Aqua site, founder and CEO Mahesh Lunani.
Mahesh: I'm with Mami Hara, CEO at the U S Water Alliance, formerly CEO of Seattle public utilities. She was also a deputy commissioner at Philadelphia water, a visiting scholar at MIT and adjunct professor at temple university and principal at an urban planning and architectural.
She has degrees from university of Pennsylvania and the Harvard university Evalyn educated business owner, teacher public works executive, and now it CEO of a nonprofit organization. Wow. No one better to talk about the future of us water infrastructure. Welcome, Mami.
Mami: Thank you Mahesh. Nice to be here today.
Mahesh: We look forward to it. Well, we'll get right into it. You had an amazing carrier, a long and successful, I would say. What are your top highlights of your carrier? What makes you really proud of what you achieved so far?
Mami: First of all, I just want to say that I'm very grateful for all the opportunities that have taught me the power of one water approaches and the importance of water equity, because that is at the core of my.
And I'm also grateful for the opportunities that have enabled me to advance practices in both those areas and advancing those fronts, which are very intertwined is by nature based on collective work and achievements. And so rather than just saying the highlights of my career, I would say that the continual highlight of my career is to be part of the one water community.
And to be part of a community that's constantly teaching, pushing and supporting one another along the way. So everything that I've had the fortune to be a part of, whether it's advancing the practice of green stormwater infrastructure or one water planning and in one water investments, developing community led environmental justice visions that lead to real change or workforce programs or raising awareness and action related to water through.
They have all arisen from collective efforts, by many people across many sectors. And that is part and parcel of the cultural shift. That one water and water equity entail. They really bring home that to do great things in water. Everyone has a role and communities which have been underserved, have to come to the floor in that work.
Mahesh: Excellent. So the things you did in your carrier, EJI, which is an environmental justice water equity, and mean, these are the hottest topics for this decade in this sector. And those are the things that you've actually worked on in the past. So I think it's, you have a tremendous value to add as you, as we look forward for us water infrastructure, which kind of brings me to us S waterlines, what impact you believe the organization will have in shaping the future water in the U S.
Mami: Well, I just want to give recognition to everyone. Who's been part of the Alliance, including the incredible former CEO and the folks who have helped to shape the programs and campaigns such as the value of water campaign, the water equity network, one water summits the Alliance continues to influence water, investment, and water management in the U S through those programs and through bringing people together across sectors and communities.
On the country's most pressing water issues. The Alliance has helped to garner understanding and support for water, investment, sustainable butter management, water equity, and community centered approaches and decision-making. But in our next chapters of work, such as our equitable infrastructure, they should do our climate program and its initiatives and our imagination challenge, which aims for net zero plus and water managers.
And our culture building work. We are aiming to alter the DNA of water infrastructure investment in the U S I know that's a tall order, but we aim to poly center, a normalized one water climate action, and equitable water investments into national practice. And we hope to do that through fostering the enabling contexts that are.
Cultural institutional systemic and policy context, demonstrating it elevating on the ground examples and growing the power of our network and partners and creating an unstoppable movement in those things and water equity, climate action, and one water practice
Mahesh: It's, it's quite amazing. First of all, it's very hard shoes to fill in your role as a new CEO.
But you know, it's also a great challenge for you to kind of establish yourself. In a new way that you can drive the organization forward. So this water challenge, the imagination, the culture change these are abstract topics, but really how do you bring an abstract topic? Onto the ground. Each municipal utility is really a key, key tactics you have to think about and how to implement this.
So it's going to be a challenge, but I feel like you're up to it. Given your background that you have. Now, I want to talk about the water because a lot of what you're setting up the policies for the country or enabling those policies in the country. The three largest uses of water in, in the U S let's focus on the us.
One is agriculture. The second is industrial, and third is multiple. That is your focus. And do you have a differentiated approach if you are attacking all these three main water use sectors?
Mami: And that's a really interesting question, looking at water through the consumption lens, which is what you're employing.
Is the is a useful one and it helps people to understand how water is used in our country or in different regions. And there are many ways of viewing water and each can be useful. And which ones you use can have profound impact on your work, as and consumption ratios can be a gateway for people to understand water allocation, where it's in.
And sometimes also assist in naming water stresses and perceived water competition. So that's all incredibly useful. The Alliance believes that cooperation and protecting and enhancing water resources and integrating water management and benefits can reduce water stressors and increase water sustainability.
So the Alliance and those we work with who are invested in sustainable water outcome. Aim to manage water through an integrated lens in which consumption might be a part of that. But we look at the influence of water management on and by people at the ecosystems they rely on. And that most often leads to different approaches.
When you use an integrated one water lens that you might arrive at than if you are using, say a purely regulatory or consumption
Mahesh: lens. Well, that's a great way of looking at. Then tidal water usage, especially from a consumption point of view the value of water has been debated a lot in this country, right?
There's been a lot of discussions around, they're just not getting the price for what the water is worth. The infrastructure has been invested 50 years ago. Now we have to rebuild, et cetera. What strategies and tactics are you deploying to increase the value of water in the U S and how will this help?
Now focusing on multiple water utilities, how will this help the water heater is in this country?
Mami: So I'd like to share a couple Alliance efforts on this front, through the value of water campaign, which includes leaders from many sectors and several other water associations and organizations. The Alliance says increased public and political will for.
More investment in water, the campaign educates and inspires about how water is essential and valuable and in need of investment. That's first, right? Getting investment is critical. The attachments that we use include regular efforts, such as a national imagine a day without water program and our annual national poll on public support for water infrastructure and better.
Which always discovers overwhelming support. And I promise it's an objective survey, even though despite the consistency of the findings, we also research and communicate on the benefits of investing in water infrastructure and the water waterworks. The Alliance and its many partners were influential in the inclusion of water in the bipartisan infrastructure legislation, also known as the infrastructure investments and jobs act.
And this approach of demonstrating the transformative benefits of water investment was important. Is it going to be increasingly. Now that we have the rare opportunity with more federal funding, the job of the value of water campaign and others is to lift up stories on the positive impact that water investment can have on people and communities.
Another area of work that is very important to us is our work around water affordability and advocating for access to water as a social good that supports our economies and public health. The water systems currently received with the exception of this new influx little Jodrell or state support in.
And that is at least in context to with the investments made for other infrastructure and social needs. Currently most costs fall on utilities and their rate payers. And this includes the costs of managing water pollution from industry and other upstream polluters of managing climate impacts driven by other sectors.
Of educating an internal and external workforce that has sometimes not been well-served by the public education system, making local rate payers, largely responsible for these costs. And then many more that drive up the cost of water services is inequitable particularly for communities who are heavily burdened, such as those that have to take on significant costs among a small number of rate payers.
So through our work around water affordability in the various forms and our programs, we make sure to reinforce that access to water service is a social good. That should not just be born by local water rate
Mahesh: hairs. No, I mean, it is even the United nations. About 10 years ago, identified water as a basic necessity that every human right.
Right. But I actually liked very interesting thing that you said one of the campaigns is imagine that David thought water. I actually posted this Tom Brady have a hydration process with. Lugs around two gallon jug of water in every meeting he goes to. Right. And he's recognized as one of the most fittest athletes.
So if you take away the. For the day. I cannot imagine how we can live. That's going to be an enormous payment. That is the best way to know what the value of water is. If you just take over the water for a day, right?
Mami: Does he drink that all by himself? All by himself? It's not there for Sherry to get the VA to get two gallon container.
Mahesh: He lugs around a two gallon jug, and then he just keeps sipping every few minutes. And it's actually an amazing story. It's part of his pliability campaign, where you make your muscles pliable and be ready for the kind of athlete that he is, which is fascinating. Wow. Maybe he should become a spokesperson for us waterlines that would really be game changer as
Mami: long as it's tap water.
And that.
Mahesh: Yeah, but listen, I want to, you talked about infrastructure bill. How does it accelerate the mission of us water lines? Can you kind of provide specific benefit areas?
Mami: Certainly the passage and implementation of the bill is something that we and our partners I've worked for a long time. And so now we have to rise to the moment and do our very best to ensure equitable and maximum outcomes from the.
So by way of first doing no harm, we in the infrastructure world, and I don't mean just water and probably not primarily water need to ensure that environmental justice communities receive the funding and aren't left behind and that their work to improve their communities, benefits those community members and helps them to thrive in.
So building from the foundation of our cross sector, national network and partners, the Alliance will engage key opportunities in order to shift the long-term trajectory of water, investment towards water equity, climate action, economic opportunity, and one water solutions. And through our new equitable infrastructure initiative.
We'll be sharing principles and dyed books for equitable infrastructure, investment convening webinars about how to best access and minister, state revolving funds and other funding expanding our water equity network. So many communities can work together and exchange knowledge with peers and other communities and access funding for best.
Also, we'll be hosting related dialogues at our one water summit this September in Milwaukee, and a lot more to the initiative. So to kick off this initiative, we've just released part one of our four-part principles for equitable infrastructure implementation series, and it is available on our website.
Mahesh: Well, you guys are producing so much thought leadership and topics, whether it's change innovation. These policies EGA. I really wonder if utilities have the full access to this stuff are leveraging this because it's really powerful for the country. I want to kind of switch gears a little bit. I want to get a little personal here in terms of what did you learn?
You ran Seattle public utilities and also a deputy commissioner, Philadelphia water. What did you learn from your time at these institutions?
Mami: Wow. Working for a utility is really an incredible opportunity to learn deeply about so many things. So it's impossible here to properly enumerate all the topics and even the major lessons much less.
Thank all the folks who taught me so much. So I'll just share at a very high level that as a leader of a community owned institution, I had. A lot about the opportunities for driving systemic change that those types of institutions have. And this speaks to what the Alliance refers to as the role of utilities as anchor institutions in those roles, especially Seattle, I learned the power of centering community and the sometimes unrealized potential to create, share, and model of power.
I really wouldn't claim to have always fulfilled that potential, but it's a great calling and it is one of the many ways that water can be manifested as a great unifier. Well, outstanding.
Mahesh: I mean, you talk about the fact that playing this role that you played is more of a calling and more around centering how you serve the community than just supplying.
I mean, that's a totally different mindset when you run these organizations with that sort of perspective. But prior to that, you were at principle in a private organization, and it's really not easy to shift from a principal owner of an architectural firm to public works executive to a nonprofit. It just doesn't seem easy to me for sure.
From there. How are you bringing that for-profit experience to your public service and what has driven that shift?
Mami: Well, maybe my private firm was never very profitable, so that helps
Mahesh: there for 15, 20 years.
Mami: Okay. So joking aside that has a lot to do with the kind of work that I did in private practice as a planner and urban designer.
My work was almost exclusively in service of public interest. And I worked on a lot of very similar issues that I have worked on in the water sector, LDL with a wider lens that included a lot of other infrastructure systems. So I worked on topics and projects that advanced environmental justice, sustainability integration of urban systems, community, vision plans, sustainable development, and waterways and water.
As well as implementation planning that included funding and financing approaches. So those are very related topics. And through that work once I was able to shed some of my useful idiocy, which was pretty big I learned that one of the most important things and that work is to engage and listen deeply to people and to aim for alignment with.
The community you're working with values, not just your own personal interests. And I was able to bring that approach and my conviction that sustainable infrastructure is essential to healthy lives and thriving democracies to my work in the public sector. But I had so much to learn entering the public sector.
So much to learn about utility of municipal management and learning how much I didn't know, made me realize that I needed to learn to facilitate the abilities and efforts of others to truly share leadership and to always stay focused on the needs of the people that use. So I am very grateful that working with the NGOs and utilities, that I've been able to be a part of that they taught me that.
And I'll be it. I'm sorry to them all that it took time.
Mahesh: It's clear to me it just listening to you. You love learning, and that's really important as a leader, right? Even I am. And I mentioned this before. I'm a different CEO now. Post pandemic or almost to the tail end of pandemic than the pre pandemic, because I had to adapt.
When you talk about your shift from private to public sector and look at it as a Venn diagram and the common thing between the two circles, one circle is the private sector. The other one is public sector is a community. I think that's what drove you to make the switch. It sounds like the way you described.
Which is fascinating. That's what made you to jump from one circle to another circle? Cause you're still serving the community. Yes, that's totally true. I want to switch because this this is a really important topic. The climate and water, I think the interdependencies very vulnerable. The drought that we see on the west coast, floods of a sea in the Midwest and east, the rising ocean levels we're seeing in Southeast of United States.
I mean, it's impact. Could change the landscape and there and how people live. So I'm going to ask a very big question and they may not be a perfect answer. What is the roadmap to driving a resilient water system that can sustain this climate change?
Mami: This is a fantastic and important question. And the currently there isn't a roadmap and we also.
I have to understand that we have to build it in a context where the climate crisis is already changing the landscape of where and how people live. The latest intergovernmental panel on climate change report released earlier this week was a star reminder of that. So the choices we make today, then to every action taken in the water sector needs to be made with climate change.
Many utilities are already answering this call and we can learn from the tremendous efforts that they've taken on over the past several years in 2021, the water utility climate Alliance other note nine, it's known as. Released a report on leading practices and climate adaptation with a findings on what's working for the largest utilities, at least then incorporating new climate science into water management and planning and their investments and actions.
And you can find that report on the link that I'll share with you later. My hash, maybe you can post it with the podcast. The Alliance itself though, is working very hard right now to leverage these practices and other insights in the sector to help scale these advancements across more than 55,000 water systems across the nation.
And to help those systems integrate water equity into their climate planning from the outset, because the water sector will only be resilient. If their surrounding communities are resilient. This integration is important. Climate stress is often felt as water stress with low income and bi-pod communities experiencing the brunt of impacts first and hardest.
So I do want to note that water issues are often seen as signifiers of climate change, but not necessarily part of the solution. We feel strongly that solutions to climate challenges are often water solutions and that water can be a gateway for integrated climate action. Climate action means resilience, adaptation and mitigation efforts working in tandem and in the water sector, because we are both a driver of emissions and a responder to impacts and need to invest simultaneously on both fronts with very limited resource.
It's difficult for us to fully separate climate mitigation and climate adaptation as so often happens. We see the need of the Alliance to make the most of all climate investments by integrating both mitigation and adaptation. When Paul. So broadly, we aim to enable all communities to be resilient in the face of a changing climate, through decarbonisation culture, change one water and technology approaches tailored to the place and people of that.
So later this spring, we will release a utility action guide that takes stock of the most promising climate actions and the water sector tonight. It's a high level guide that's meant to kickstart climate action. It walks practitioners through ideas for implementation around 10 key actions that are successfully building resilience, their equity implications, and creative ways to fund climate projects.
And lastly, we're also working with a large and incredible group of cross sector leaders on the development of a national imagination challenge to help better understand and define water's role in climate mitigation on world water day, we'll release this team's 2050 vision for net zero water and the summer, the team will then release a roadmap for strategic pathways to enact that vision at the water.
Drinking water, wastewater, utility, and small systems levels. So that's a lot. Thanks for letting me go on about that.
Mahesh: No, it was a heavy question and it deserved a heavy answer. As far as I see what it was for me, quite interesting to glean from your response, mami, is the climate stress manifests into a water stress.
And if you allow me to extend it, that would manifest into people's. And that's your tagline right there. Right? And so this guide that you are releasing very soon is really how to reverse that. More or less right. Or how to minimize the impact of that trend, which perhaps could be a reversible from a climate point of view.
That's outstanding, a great role. You are playing your organization, playing in and all the on the athlete farms are playing. And I want to switch on a topic that you mentioned early on in our discussion change changes an awfully important word when it comes to. Change in how utilities operate, change in how residents consume water, changing, how politicians think about water infrastructure and changing water rates.
You can go on and on and on this topic, how do you drive this change? It sounds like a Herculean effort because if not for people, change is easy, but when you have people change, it's different. Right. What is your perspective on this?
Mami: Mahesh, I'm going to start by just citing the alliances stated theory of change, if it would be helpful.
So it's stated theory of change is that the Alliance United diverse interests to find common ground solutions on complex problems that no one sector can solve alone. And mobilizes a broad network of people in organizations from all walks of life to generate breakthroughs. So the Alliance actively partners and leveraging the talents of colleagues inside and outside the water sector to forge progress.
So that's the stated theory of change. And I just want to stress that at the heart of it, all that this approach is inclusive and. We see everyone as a one water leader, whether they know that or not. And we bring all stakeholders together to co-create and leverage solutions. And the Alliance laid out this approach in a report called the six essential capacities for one water change-makers.
And I just like to maybe share that link with you afterwards as well. So I won't go over all of the details, but it does lay out the. Steps for how each person and organization can help to push change. We also employ movement building approaches that can be understood under three strategic themes, which we call educate, accelerate, and celebrate.
So we educate by building a diverse base of one water champion. Through mutual discovery, education, and eight engagement with everyone who has a stake in the future of water. And we share what we learn from them to help inspire further action. Right. We also accelerate the adoption of one water through our various programs, helping others to pilot and test approach.
And then lastly, we celebrate what works in order to spread and share and drive innovation and water. And we do all of these things in order to embed an institutionalized. The important goals of one water equity and climate action. And I'd like to just end that response by just saying that we're currently also doing some work that we're very excited about and exploring cultural strategy.
To advance those goals through our arts and culture work. So please expect more on that.
Mahesh: Wow. There's so many things coming out of the organization, especially this change guide. You said to six ways to drive change in your organization. It sounds like sounds like you have a, a water practice, water, MBA school.
And you want to change guide. You want climate resiliency, you want innovation, you want equity. You've got all those books there and policies and guidebooks. It can roll out right to your members. That's quite amazing, quite amazing. As we wrap our discussion up, I kind of always like to ask the leaders kind of a CEO to CEO dialog to reflect what is one thing you want to do in future that when you look back.
You say, wow, I'm so proud of it. So what I'm talking about is from here on right forward. And second part of this question is what guidance you have to those that want to step into water leadership. So I'm wrapping this session with two different questions.
Mami: So much my hash through that personal note my dream is to build the one water movement and.
Integrate water equity and climate facing practices, such that all of those become standard practice go. That sounds huge, but that is not just a individual effort, right? That means engaging everyone as a water steward, trying to figure out how to do that. And really working together to facilitate the evolution of the culture of the water sector towards being more community and equity centered and all of us pulling together to realize the promise of distributed and sustainable water infrastructure that truly facilitates meaningful jobs and thriving communities and inspiring connections to our ecosystem.
And do you know, and above all that Alliance tagline of ensuring a sustainable and ethical water future for all. That's why I joined the Alliance. I fully believe in that mission. It's what I feel like I've been investing in my whole career. And for those who want to step into water leadership and truly listening to those users, And really understanding and advancing their priorities with them, not just for them is fundamental and knowing your own values and allowing those values to help guide you is also essential as it is appreciating your own unique mix of experience skills and knowledge, and that of others the water sector needs all kinds of voices.
All kinds of lived experiences and ideas in order to make real progress. And so just joining the choir is not going to push us along. So the last thing I would just say is don't devalue what you have to offer through. And don't discount others' contributions either.
Mahesh: Excellent, excellent, Mami.. As I reflect on our conversation for the last 35 minutes, you said this could be a very big goal to achieve this four pillars.
You talked about the one water, the equity, the climate resiliency and change, but you know, I'll tell you in 1980s, when strategy was not a core of management sub. Michael Porter came along and simplified what strategy is and now it's embedded into every organization. Right? So these four pillars that you're talking about in 10, 15 years from now, it would be embedded in the way we run our water business.
Right. I think it's totally achievable. It totally something you can look back and say, we've done that. I appreciate the very interesting insights Mami., with your breadth of experience and trying to drive this, this one, water equity, climate, and change aspect of this utility business to create the 21st century water infrastructure in the U S so I want to thank you for your time.
Mami: Thank you very much for inviting me Masha. It was really a delight to speak with you.
Mahesh: Real pleasure.
Don: Join host and Aquasight founder and CEO Mahesh Lunani again next month for another episode of 21st century water subscribe for free on apple podcasts, Google, Spotify, or Stitcher produced by Jag in Detroit podcasts.