International Water Association

The International Water Association (IWA) is a self-governing nonprofit organization and knowledge hub for the water sector, connecting water professionals and companies to find solutions to the world's water challenges. It has permanent staff housed in its headquarters and global secretariat in central London, England, to support the activities, and has a regional office in Chennai, India. The aim of the IWA is to function as an international network for water experts and promote standards and optimal approaches in sustainable water management. Its membership is a global mosaic comprising 313 technology companies, water and wastewater utilities, 54 universities, and wider stakeholders in the fields of water services, infrastructure engineering and consulting as well as 7,791 individuals including scientists and researchers, with 53 governing members (2021). IWA is an affiliated member of the International Science Council (ISC). IWA features regional associations, approximately 50 specialist groups covering key topics in urban water management, specialized task forces, and web-based knowledge networks.

Two significant conferences are organized by the IWA biennially: the World Water Congress & Exhibition (WWDE) and the Water and Development Congress & Exhibition (WDCE). IWA works across a wide range of issues covering the full water cycle, with four programmes – Basins of the Future (water security), Cities of the Future (urban metabolism, sustainable city), Water and Sanitation Services (wastewater management) including Water policy and regulation – that work towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals adopted by the 70th UN General Assembly and addressing the threat to sustainable water posed by climate change.

The association traces its historical roots back to the International Water Supply Association (IWSA), established in June 1947 in Harrogate, United Kingdom, changing its name to International Water Service Association (IWSA) in the mid-1990s, and the International Association on Water Quality (IAWQ), which was originally formed as the International Association for Water Pollution Research (IAWPR) in 1962, formally constituted in June 1965 also in the same city, renamed International Association of Water Pollution Research and Control (IAWPRC) in March 1982 and adopting IAWQ in May 1992. Both were global membership organizations – one related to drinking water utility and the other related to wastewater utility – dedicated to advancing research and best practices through international collaboration, but represented two distinct causes, perspectives, histories, and membership profiles.

The organizations had a series of activities centered on recurring congresses, which in the later years would include specialty conferences and regional conferences for individuals without the means of attending the biennial events. The self-managed specialist group framework initially developed within IAWPRC would eventually evolve into the cornerstone of IWA's operational approach extending beyond IWA's biennial congresses, and be further enriched by clusters and programs formed by specialist groups within IWA. In the history of IWSA, the focus of publication of journals was smaller compared to IAWQ.

Discussions regarding a merger between the IWSA and IAWQ commenced in 1996. Given their shared location in London for several years, the idea of a merger had long been considered. Ultimately, negotiations for the merger were conducted through what later became known as the Merger Coordinating Group (MCG), who held a last meeting in London on 12-13 May 1999. On 23 January 1998, the then presidents, Nicholas Hood of IWSA and Thomas Keinath of IAWQ, signed a memorandum of understanding, paving the way for the ratification of the merger between the two organizations. After receiving mandates from their respective boards of directors to the formal proposal, IWSA in May and IAWQ in June the same year, the full merger was scheduled to take place by 1 August 1999. The merger was formally sealed during a signing event held at the Stockholm Water Week in August 1999. Under UK Charity Law, the merger officially dissolved IWSA and IAWQ, giving rise to the establishment of a new association.

The two professional, technical associations with separate cultures, and working methods eventually merged on 7 September 1999 to form the International Water Association (IWA), creating one international organization focused on the full water cycle. The merger was motivated by the streamlining of operations and a desire to accumulate critical mass. Legally signed and created at the end of July 1999, the IWA was ceremonially launched at the final IWSA 22nd World Water Congress and Exhibition, held in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 18–24 September 1999, in collaboration with AIDIS Argentina. IWA was operational in their new headquarters on Caxton Street, London, United Kingdom from January 2000. Included in the merger process was a new member leadership structure, the Scientific and Technical Council (STC) and a Management and Policy Council (MPC), and the creation of two subsidiaries: IWA Publishing (IWA) and the IWA Foundation.

The first congress under the auspices of the new organization was held in Paris in 2000 with nearly 2.500 delegates attending 450 oral presentations, 750 poster presentations and 4 workshops and seminars. In 2009, IWA launched a biennial Development Congress, with Mexico City as the inaugural location, as a key component of its comprehensive agenda to drive advancements in the developing world. Together with the America’s Clean Water Foundation (ACWF), IWA sponsored the first World Water Monitoring Day in October 2003, handled the joint coordination of the program together with the Water Environment Federation (WEF) from July 2006 until January 2015, where the coordinator role was transferred to EarthEcho International. By September 2016, the membership numbers at IWA had increased to 6,295 members, which was an increase from 4,901 members in 2007.

Water professionals had increasingly discussed and agreed on the necessity for a consistent framework within which to ensure drinking water quality standards, which was further emphasized by the World Health Organization's development of the 3rd edition of its Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality (GDWQ), emphasizing proactive risk-based management alongside end-product monitoring for compliance. A generic framework for water quality management was crafted during workshops in Bonn, Germany in October 2001 and refined in February 2004, resulting in the Bonn Charter for Safe Drinking Water, launched by IWA in September 2004 during the 4th WWC&E. The Bonn Charter for Safe Drinking Water advocates for the adoption of Water Safety Plans (WSPs), in alignment with the WHO GDWQ.