The American Water Resources Association: Past, present, and future

The American Water Resources Association (AWRA) was organized in 1964 with Robert W. Fin frock as its first president. The mission of the organization as envisioned by the organizers was to promote an improved understanding of water resources and related issues by providing a multidisciplinary forum for information exchange, professional development, and education. Since its organization the AWRA membership has grown steadily to a present total of more than 2,500, with members living in a total of 44 countries and a corporate membership of more than 50. AWRA is now recognized as the preeminent professional organization for information exchange about water resources issues. Because these issues are always multidisciplinary in nature, the members of the organization include (but are not limited to) economists, hydrologists, meteorologists, range scientists, foresters, water quality professionals, sociologists, and engineers. Since its organization AWRA has been led by 35 presidents from a wide variety of disciplines. The paper includes remembered highlights from many of these past presidents and will reflect a brief history of the AWRA since its organization nearly 40 years ago. The paper also includes a discussion on how the AWRA is preparing to address the challenging water supply and water resources management issues of the Twenty-first Century.