2026 Next Generation Water Summit Returns June 11-12
The 2026 Next Generation Water Summit (NGWS) will return to the New Mexico state capital building in Santa Fe, NM on June 11-12, 2026. The theme for the upcoming event will be “Increasing Demand, Declining Realities“ and will convene members of the development community with water policymakers to address current water conservation practices and policies in the Southwest.
Brett Walton, an award-winning reporter for Circle of Blue, will deliver the keynote on Thursday, June 11. He will provide an update on the Colorado River Compact negotiations. “It’s a stressful period for the Colorado River as the basin attempts to reckon with a drier future,” Walton states. “At the same time, a crisis is an opportunity for fresh ideas and trailblazing. With recent record heat and scant snow in the mountains, this is a pivotal year for one of the country’s most important river basins.”
Additional session topics will include:
- Healthy Soils, Saving Water
- Integrating Water into the Sustainability Conversation
- Graywater Alliance Update
- New Aquifer Mapping Data and Why It Matters
- Do Trees Save Water?
Early bird pricing will remain the same as it has been for the past 2 years, with a fee of $199 for in-person and $79 for virtual attendance. Free community tours will take place on June 13.
The Next Generation Water Summit brings together the building and development community, water reuse professionals and water policymakers in a collaborative setting to share best practices and learn about innovative water conservation and water reuse techniques that can be used to comply with water conservation restrictions spreading across the Southwest.
Registration is available for in-person or virtual attendance, and all registrants will be able to access on-demand sessions. For more information on the Summit, please go to www.NextGenerationWaterSummit.com. To get the latest updates, please link with us at www.linkedin.com/in/next-generation-water-summit
Hosts of the Next Generation Water Summit are the Santa Fe Green Chamber of Commerce; Green Builder® Coalition; City of Santa Fe; KUELwater, and the Santa Fe Area Homebuilders Association. The Alliance for Water Efficiency is a promotional partner, the national media partner is Green Builder® Media and the education partner is Triconic, with additional support from Santa Fe County for rural track programming.
About the Next Generation Water Summit
The Next Generation Water Summit brings together the building and development community, water reuse professionals and water policymakers in a collaborative setting to share best practices and learn about innovative water conservation and water reuse techniques that can be used to comply with water conservation restrictions spreading across the southwest.
Two Board Members Elected to Coalition Board
The Green Builder® Coalition Membership has elected Bill Lazar and Gregor Braugman to 3-year terms on its Board of Directors. Both terms will expire in October 2028.
Bill Lazar is the Executive Director of St. Johns Housing Partnership and a licensed Florida residential contractor. He has worked with affordable housing programs for 38 years and has won numerous awards. He is a strong advocate for green building and high school vocational programs. He has served on the boards of the St. Johns Builders Council, the Florida Green Building Coalition, Florida Weatherization Network, and the Affordable Housing Advisory Council for the Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Florida Green Building Coalition and the Menendez High School Construction Academy Advisory Council. This is Bill’s 3rd term on the Coalition’s Board.
Gregor Braugman is a HERS Rater with over three years of experience in residential energy ratings and more than a year and a half working with the Water Efficiency Rating Score (WERS)®. He specializes in data collection and processing systems that support accurate, efficient building performance evaluation. Gregor holds associate degrees in Evolutionary Biology and Architectural Drafting, bringing both analytical and technical perspectives to his work. He lives and works in Central New Mexico, supporting high-performance building practices throughout the region.
Lazar and Braugman join Board Chair Ingrid Mattsson (elected 2023) on the Board. Steve Byers’ term on the Board expired in October 2025, while the Board seat of Kim Shanahan had not been filled since his passing in April 2025.