Two early-career slots inside a technical programme
WaterSmart Innovations runs 21-23 October 2026 at the Oregon Convention Center on 777 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd in Portland, Oregon. The American Water Works Association organises it. All conference events take place in that building.
Two scheduled slots address students and delegates early in their careers. The Students and Young Professionals Connect ran on Wednesday evening. The Student and Young Professional Lunch with the Boss ran on Thursday midday. Professional sessions, an exhibit hall and paid pre-conference workshops fill the rest of the programme.
Wednesday evening: the Connect
The Connect ran 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Wednesday 21 October, after the pre-conference workshops closed at 5:00 p.m. The PNW YP Committee co-hosted it. AWWA lists the session as a casual meet-up with peers and asks delegates to sign up through a form.
AWWA publishes no room cap for the Connect and no list of the professionals who attend. Its students and young professionals pages define the group as age 35 and under.
Thursday lunch: Lunch with the Boss
Lunch with the Boss ran 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Thursday 22 October. AWWA describes the ninety minutes as a seat beside leaders in the water profession, with questions, their career accounts and time to make connections.
Lunch in the Exhibit Hall shared that window at 11:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. A delegate at the Boss lunch left the floor at 11:30 a.m. and returned after 1:00 p.m.
Neither the schedule page nor the event page names the leaders. A delegate books on the session description.
The rate ladder an early-career delegate reads
Student registration costs $65 on the early rate and $90 after 21 September. AWWA requires validation for the rate. It carries full conference access: educational sessions, the exposition, the reception and the lunches.
Full conference registration lists at $595 for members and $695 for non-members on or before 21 September at 11:59 p.m. ET. From 22 September the two rates read $695 and $795. The speaker rate reads $495 and $595 early, then $595 and $695.
The floor tier lists at $70 early and $100 regular. It carries the exposition and the exhibit hall events. Educational sessions, workshops and tours stay outside it, and the hall lunches carry an extra fee.
The student rate buys the sessions at $65 or $90. The floor rate buys the hall at $70 or $100.
The two slots and the exhibit hall are the programme's student and early-career touchpoints. AWWA links a Career Center from its site navigation and lists no session for it inside the Portland programme.
A workshop written for early-career staff
PCW02, Water Conservation Programs 101, ran on Wednesday 21 October from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. at $90. AWWA describes it as designed for early career professionals and lists conservation planning fundamentals, programme design, water use metrics and customer engagement among its subjects.
PCW01, Empowering Water Management, ran the full day from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at $180. AWWA limits that workshop to 48 people. Both sit outside the conference fee and both need their own registration.
The 7 a.m. desk and the closing day
The registration desk opened at 7:00 a.m. on Wednesday and closed at 5:00 p.m. Thursday ran 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Friday 23 October runs 8:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Friday carries a morning session block from 8:30 to 11:45 a.m., the exhibit hall from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., and an afternoon block from 2:00 to 4:45 p.m.
Wednesday's 7:00 a.m. opening landed one hour before the pre-conference workshops started. A delegate who registered onsite that morning and walked into PCW02 at 8:00 a.m. had 60 minutes.
Three caps applied on the pre-conference day. PCW01 held 48 people in one room for eight hours. The tours capped at 20 and 24 people at $90 a head, and the Bull Run watershed tour sold out.
What the badge carries home
AWWA issues Certificates of Completion for sessions and workshops. A delegate enters a check-in code at the start of a session and a check-out code at the end in the AWWA Events app. The login takes a last name and the number under the barcode on the confirmation email.
Operator CEU credit is pre-approved in six states: California, Colorado under CCWP number 26-11624, Florida, Illinois under IEPA number 23917, Oregon under OESAC number 7755, and Wyoming. AWWA leaves the award to each licensing agency. Certificate processing takes 14 days.
Who the programme draws
The opening general session ran Thursday 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. Kari Vigerstol, senior advisor for water scarcity and resilience at The Nature Conservancy, gave it. The exhibit hall ran to 6:30 p.m. and a cocktail reception closed the day from 4:45 p.m.
AWWA lists the audience as water resource planners and engineers, conservation and green infrastructure professionals, municipal water and wastewater utility staff, consultants, local, state and federal government agencies, water quality specialists and public affairs managers.