WEFTEC panel to examine collaborative delivery for water infrastructure

Municipal and utility leaders at WEFTEC 2026 in New Orleans will hear a panel on collaborative delivery for water and wastewater projects, with speakers from the public, development, legal and delivery sides. The session will weigh when the model works, what risks it carries, and how public owners can protect ratepayers and communities.

Why it matters: - Water and wastewater systems face aging infrastructure, limited capital, project-delivery risk and water-scarcity pressures. - The panel is designed to help public owners decide when collaborative delivery fits a project and when traditional design-bid-build may be the better option. - The discussion focuses on how cities and utilities can move essential infrastructure forward without losing control of community and ratepayer interests.

What happened: - WEFTEC 2026 will host a special panel titled “Collaborative Delivery for Water & Wastewater Infrastructure.” - The session is aimed at municipal and public utility leaders, along with city managers, utility executives, public works leaders, engineers, developers and attorneys. - The panel is scheduled for Tuesday, September 29, 2026, from 7:30 to 9:00 a.m. CT at the New Orleans Marriott Warehouse Arts District, Room Cypress II, 859 Convention Center Boulevard, New Orleans, Louisiana 70130. - Seating is limited, and attendees are encouraged to reserve in advance. - Session details and registration are available through the session page.

The details: - Greg Chavarria, former city manager of Fort Lauderdale and vice president at KEITH, will moderate and bring the public-owner perspective. - Chavarria was directly involved in advancing Fort Lauderdale’s Prospect Lake Clean Water Center and will discuss why the city explored a collaborative delivery model. - Chris Tynan, CEO and founder of Burnham, will discuss the developer perspective, including private-sector participation, financing, risk and long-term service commitments. - Brock King, director at Kiewit Development and co-chair of the Association for the Improvement of American Infrastructure’s Water Infrastructure Committee, will address delivery best practices and how owners can evaluate partners beyond price. - Dolly Mirchandani, co-head of the White & Case Global Infrastructure Group, will cover legal issues, including how collaborative delivery differs from design-bid-build and how to structure agreements. - The discussion will cover project selection, contract risks, negotiation mistakes, private financing, municipal capital considerations and the internal capacity needed to manage a collaborative partnership. - Audience questions and a rapid discussion of common misconceptions are included. - The session will present multiple professional perspectives rather than promote one delivery model.

Between the lines: - The format signals a push to normalize a more nuanced public conversation about delivery models for essential infrastructure. - The panel’s balanced framing suggests collaborative delivery is being positioned as a tool, not a cure-all. - Fort Lauderdale’s Prospect Lake Clean Water Center gives the session a real project example, which should make the discussion more concrete for public owners weighing similar decisions. - The project was named Best P3 Utility Project of the Year by P3 Bulletin and is scheduled to become operational in September 2026.

What's next: - Attendees will hear practical guidance on when collaborative delivery may be appropriate and how to protect public interests if a city or utility chooses that path. - The session is expected to offer lessons drawn from the Prospect Lake project and from panelists’ experience across public, legal, development and infrastructure roles. - Organizers say the discussion will help public owners make better-informed delivery decisions as they plan future water and wastewater investments.

The bottom line: - WEFTEC’s panel is aimed at giving public officials a practical framework for choosing between collaborative and traditional delivery methods on high-stakes water projects.