2026 U.S. Water Leaders Summit

The Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Story: Advancing the Fresh Coast Economic Corridor through Local Leadership:  Cleveland’s Site Readiness for Good Jobs Fund, a more than $80 million initiative, is preparing high potential industrial and commercial sites for employers that prioritize sustainability, advanced manufacturing, and equitable job creation. At the same time, Cuyahoga County is leveraging a significant regional Climate Pollution Reduction Grant award to accelerate greenhouse gas reductions, expand clean energy adoption, and support climate resilient economic development. Together, both governments are transforming public access and economic opportunity along the Cuyahoga River and Lake Erie. This session will empower cites with actionable strategies for deploying area-wide planning frameworks and innovative funding strategies to drive long-term job creation and waterfront revitalization throughout the Fresh Coast Economic Corridor.

Local Growth, Regional Impact: Leveraging the Blue Economy to Improve Water Quality:  Fresh water is one of our region’s greatest economic assets, creating opportunities for business attraction, job growth, and innovation. Yet many communities continue to grapple with the legacy of past industrial pollution threating water quality and community health. As we work to build the Fresh Coast Economic Corridor, we have a responsibility to attract companies that are doing more than just minimizing impact. This session will assess opportunities to leverage the growing blue economy to improve water quality and solve some of the region’s most pressing freshwater challenges.

Safe Water for All: Implementing Innovative Approaches to Reduce the Risk of Lead Exposure: The past five years have seen increased momentum on lead service line replacement, though challenges remain. Some cities have been unable to access loans from their respective State Revolving Funds because upfront planning, engineering, and planning work can be cost-prohibitive. Other cities are unsure how to comply with EPA’s Lead and Copper Rule Improvements. This session will explore innovative approaches and partnership opportunities that can be leveraged to surmount these hurdles and promote public health across the Great Lakes.

Towards a More Prosperous Regional Economy: Promoting Economic Integration and Resilience Amid U.S.-Canada Trade Uncertainty: The U.S.-Canada trade relationship has been experiencing significant headwinds in recent years, with the ongoing trade war causing devastating economic impacts across our region. Recently, the United States opted not to extend the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement and threatened additional tariffs on Canadian goods, exacerbating trade uncertainty amid mounting job losses and cost increases. This session will survey the evolving trade landscape and identify opportunities for cross-border coalitions to promote continued economic integration and resilience.

Make No Little Plans: Setting the Vision and Securing the Funding to Advance Coastal Resilience and Water Access Projects:  The Cleveland Harbor Eastern Embayment Resilience Strategy, or ‘CHEERS,’ is a large-scale plan that will secure additional parkland and habitat along Cleveland’s Lake Erie shoreline. A partnership between Cleveland Metroparks, Port of Cleveland, and Black Environmental Leaders, CHEERS illustrates the importance of investing in coastal resilience measures in urban areas to provide the greatest impact for the surrounding community. This session will provide updates to the project pending construction and highlight the community benefits paired with beneficial use of dredge material, habitat creation, infrastructure protection, and shoreline stabilization via multiple funding sources.

The Coming Container Revolution: Expanding Maritime Commerce on the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway:  The Cities Initiative’s Economic Transformation Action Plan calls for increasing maritime commerce on the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway by 30 percent over the next decade. Expanding the network of U.S. ports with container capacity will be central to this effort. The Port of Cleveland has been a pioneer in containerization since 2014 — and new container terminals are coming online throughout the region. This session will provide a tour d’horizon of the past, present, and future of containerization on the Great Lakes and examine related opportunities for port- and municipally-driven economic growth.

The Local ROI of Great Lakes Restoration Investments: Restoring our Great Lakes, Revitalizing Cities: For local elected officials, environmental restoration can be a powerful economic engine. The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) has proven to be a catalyst for community revitalization in many cities across the basin. A 2018 Great Lakes Commission-led study found that every dollar of federal spending on GLRI projects between 2010 and 2016 will produce $3.35 in additional economic activity in the Great Lakes region through 2036. During this session, the Great Lakes Commission will detail how the GLRI continues to address the most pressing environmental Great Lakes issues and how an updated GLRI Economic Impact Study is re-examining local impacts to economic activity, including tourism, redevelopment, employment, public access, and community wellbeing. The session will also feature a handful of local mayors and/or community leaders who will share about their experience with the impacts of GLRI investments and will wrap up with a discussion among attendees about ways to leverage these investments for community benefit.

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