VX News is the editorial voice of the annual VerdeXchange Conference, featuring in-depth interviews with industry leaders and policymakers driving innovation in clean energy, water, transportation, and climate policy.
VX Excerpt: Beyond Watershed Planning – Engaging Communities to Improve Outcomes of the LA County’s “Safe Clean Water Program”
As stormwater capture becomes Los Angeles County's principal strategy for managing flood risk, water quality, and local supply, the question of whether Measure W dollars are being deployed at watershed scale – or project by project – has become central to the program's next decade. VX News here excerpts Beyond Watershed Planning, Los Angeles Waterkeeper's assessment of the LA County Flood Control District's Safe Clean Water Program, drawn from five community workshops across four watersheds, which finds the $280-million-a-year program too reactive in structure and recommends a proactive 20-year investment cycle, clearer metrics, stronger greening targets, and deeper community and Tribal engagement.
Felicia Marcus "A New Bridge With Another Expiration Date"
In conversation, Felicia Marcus, the William C. Landreth Visiting Fellow at Stanford's Water in the West program and former chair of the California State Water Resources Control Board, assesses the plan federal officials have just accepted to cut Colorado River use through 2028 which she calls a large band-aid rather than the tourniquet the basin needs. She reflects on 25 years of living beyond the river's means, the compact arithmetic that set the overallocation in motion, and the shift required from two-year interim patches toward a durable post-2026 framework. Drawing on service at the federal, state, and municipal levels, Marcus argues that Washington has abandoned the "800-pound gorilla" role that once produced the Bay-Delta Accord and the Quantification Settlement Agreement. Her prescription rests on financing and inclusion – capital to scale conservation and retrofits, and negotiations that reach past the seven state delegations to local agencies, academics, and tribes.
Building Climate Resilience: Wade Crowfoot on California’s Land, Water, and Energy Systems
In conversation with VX News, California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot discusses advancing climate resilience across land, water, and energy systems as extreme weather intensifies. From wildfire resilience and biodiversity restoration to the state’s long-term Water Supply Strategy for a Hotter, Drier Future, Crowfoot outlines how California is preparing for a projected 10 percent decline in water supply while supporting a population of nearly 40 million people.
Water’s Global Challenge: Booky Oren on De-Risking Innovation to Scale Implementation
Water doesn’t fail for lack of technology—it fails for lack of implementation. In this VX News interview, Booky Oren, former executive chair of Israel’s national water utility and CEO and founder of Booky Oren Global Water Technologies, explains why scaling proven water solutions remains so difficult, what utilities actually need to manage risk, and how global knowledge-sharing can accelerate resilience.
David Nahai: Water Contamination, Climate Resilience, and Regional Leadership
Recently reappointed by Governor Gavin Newsom and confirmed by the California Senate, David Nahai is serving a fifth term as Chair of the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board. In conversation with VX News, Nahai outlines the Board’s top priorities amid recent and converging climate threats, including wastewater recycling, stormwater capture, aquifer remediation, and a more integrated embrace of the One Water framework.
50L Home Pilot Offers Roadmap for Policy, Funding, and Cultural Change
VX News highlights the U.S. Green Building Council California’s (USGBC-CA) published results from its 50 Liter Home pilot project in Los Angeles—a proof-of-concept and replicable model showing how households can achieve dramatic water savings while maintaining comfort and quality of life.
Accelerating Water Resilience through Infrastructure Finance in California
Watch this panel discuss instruments that exist for providing supplemental, flexible, low-cost credit assistance to public and private borrowers for various types of wastewater, stormwater, and drinking water projects.
Stantec’s Tama Snow on SoCal Water Treatment & Recycling Projects
With Stantec serving as Program Manager and leading the design of the Pure Water Antelope Valley (Pure Water AV) demonstration facility, VX News interviewed Stantec Pacific Water Division VP, Tama Snow, on this and other Pure Water projects across Southern California. Emphasizing the sea-change in public understanding and acceptance of water treatment and recycling technology, Snow highlights the opportunities for water recycling and banking to address some of the region’s most pressing water challenges.
