Utility Summit

The 2026 Utility Summit will bring together elected leaders and decision-makers from Tribes, regulators, cities, utilities, members of the environmental community, and affordability advocates. The objective of the morning is to begin to chart a new course on more pollutant reduction under a sustainable and predictable rate path, while continuing to honor regulatory obligations.

During the Summit, we will learn more about the current “regulatory stack” issue that is driving significant wastewater rate increases hear about tools available under the Clean Water Act (CWA), namely Integrated Planning, to pull forward projects with the most pollutant reduction while continuing to deliver on regulatory obligations. We will discuss whether and how future projects could be combined or redesigned to have better water quality outcomes.

We will hear from a small, diverse panel of leaders discuss their values, non-negotiables, and lessons learned from other seemingly intractable issues.

Panel leaders will include the King County Executive, Tribal leadership, the Director of the Department of Ecology, leadership from the Sound City Association, the Seattle City Council, the Regional Water Quality Committee, the Metropolitan Water Pollution Abatement Advisory Committee, and local Sewer Districts.

The focus of this summit is on building a more integrated and outcome-focused approach to meeting CWA requirements. At the same time, we will provide space to hear the immediate concerns and interests in wastewater rates. The summit will include an update on other near-term actions, and as always, we are committed to keeping lines of communication open through the Regional Water Quality Committee, the Metropolitan Water Pollution Abatement Advisory Committee, the Sound Cities Association, the upcoming water quality forums hosted by the Department of Ecology, continuing engagement with the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, as well as ongoing government-to-government tribal consultation.

10:00 –10:30 Networking and Refreshments

10:30 – 11:30 Leadership Panel Discussion

11:30 – 12:30 Networking

The Utility Summit will be held on the 13th floor of the Chinook Building (401 5th Avenue Seattle, WA) on Friday, December 4. Parking will be available at Goat HIll Garage on 5th avenue, across the street from the Chinook Building.

Please RSVP by November 20. We hope you can be there.

Please contact Abby Hook ([email protected]) with any questions.