Water utility leaders, researchers, and policymakers met in Los Angeles to redesign water systems for extreme weather. They discussed new sourcing and storage strategies, better coordination before crises hit, and how to communicate when trust matters most. Water sits at the center of cascading disasters like wildfires, floods, and power failures.
Across the world, extreme events are testing the systems we rely on most. Wildfire, flood, power failure, infrastructure breakdown. Water sits at the center of it all. Recently in Los Angeles, the Clark Prize brought together leaders from water and power utilities, research institutions, engineering innovation, and public policy to confront a defining question. How do we design water systems for an era of accelerating risk? This was not a conference about what went wrong. It was a working session about what must come next. Rethinking how water is sourced and stored, strengthening coordination before a crisis strikes, and improving how institutions communicate when trust matters most. The Clark Prize has long honored excellence in water leadership. Now it is helping to shape what comes next. Because the challenges are global, the risks are urgent, and the future of water security must be built together.
