Heather Collins: Leading AWWA, Trust, and the Human Side of Water | Make Water Work 047

Heather Collins set out to work in aerospace. She ended up running water operations for 19 million people, and finishing a term as the 144th President of the American Water Works Association. In this episode, Isaac sits down with Heather Collins, Assistant Chief of Operations at the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California and immediate past president of AWWA, for a conversation that moves from how water found her to what it actually takes to keep a region's water flowing when everything from cyberattacks to earthquakes is on the table. In this episode, we cover: •How a canceled aerospace internship led Heather into water, and eventually to public health, water quality, and operations at one of the largest water wholesalers in the world •What AWWA actually is, how its 50,000 members and 43 sections work alongside its staff, and why the presidency is a one-year role built on decades of groundwork •Why Metropolitan's century-old, largely gravity-fed system is an engineering marvel and what "manual mode" means for resiliency during cyberattacks and natural disasters •The real relationship between data centers, power, and water demand, and what's misunderstood about it •Why AI and automation are freeing up the workforce for higher-value work, not replacing the human judgment operators bring •Rebuilding public trust in tap water across generations that get their information in completely different ways •What Heather is most proud of from her presidential year, and her advice for the next generation of water leaders Water is easy to take for granted right until it isn't. This conversation is a good reminder of everything standing behind the tap.