One Water and General Beaver’s Bust

This week NRPA led the first-ever parks delegation to the One Water Summit. The summit — the signature event for the US Water Alliance — brings together leaders in the water community, united by the desire to adopt a One Water approach to our nation’s water infrastructure. 

We brought park and rec leaders from across the country to Minneapolis to build on the conversation we have been having at NRPA about the role that parks play in partnership with their brother and sister agencies in water to add value to utility projects, primarily through the use of green stormwater infrastructure. Our Tuesday parks delegation meeting was overflowing with municipal utility leaders, sustainability officers, local and national nonprofit leaders, all interested in how to better leverage park and water assets for broader community benefit.

We were thrilled, and frankly, surprised with the turnout. Our hour and a half session could have easily lasted a half-day. We discussed barriers and opportunities in building and sustaining partnerships, governance models and funding, and heard about some successful local models from Philly Parks Commissioner Kathryn Ott Lovell and Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District CEO Kevin Shafer. 

Participating in this high-level gathering confirmed what a lot of us suspected — that there is a huge opportunity for parks to play a larger role in providing not only green infrastructure for managing stormwater, but models for community engagement, equity-based programming and environmental education — the things that we in parks and rec have done well for a long time.

Coming out of this engagement, NRPA made a series of commitments in support of the One Water agenda:

1. As part of our ongoing Great Urban Parks Campaign, we’re offering $2 million in green stormwater infrastructure grants.
2. We are partnering with the Water Environment Federation to offer their National Green Infrastructure Certification Program to park and rec professionals (stay tuned).
3. We are committing to additional dialogues and thought-leader convenings with professionals and leaders in the water sector (stay tuned).

As I head out for a week of celebrating clean water and recreation at a lake in northern Minnesota, I’ll be thinking more about how we can contribute to this conversation. And as you enjoy clean drinking water, or fish and swim on a water body in your neck of the woods, I urge you to consider how you could add value to your park system and community through strategic partnerships with your local water utilities.

The other benefit of having all of these smart people from across the country together is remembering how fun park and rec folk are. Over a lively dinner in downtown Minneapolis, park and rec leaders shared some of their war stories and one that I thought I’d share with you involves a missing 600 pound bust of a civil war general. Never a dull moment in parks and rec. Thanks for doing what you do. 

Vice President of Urban and Government Affairs

 

P.S. There are just a few slots left for our upcoming Innovation Lab in Seattle where we’ll be workshopping effective strategies around the politics of voter-approved park and recreation funding mechanisms. Join park and rec leaders from Seattle, Portland, Cincinnati, Miami, D.C., St. Louis, and more for this critical conversation! Register now.