Well, this time he's gone over the edge. The water guy has gotta be writing about professional wrestling or cage fighting. Isn't that what those acronyms stand for? Don't you just love acronyms? In my career in water resources, I've been exposed to literally hundreds of acronyms.

Most of the time I know what they stand for but when a colleague uses one that I'm not familiar with, I nod knowingly like it's something I've known all my life. Then I throw one back. The colleague, with a blank stare, also nods knowingly. Has life become nothing more than dueling acronyms?

Anyhow, let's start with AWRA.

The acronym stands for the American Water Resources Association and its national headquarters is located in Middleburg, VA.

Why Middleburg? It's a long story better saved for another time. AWRA is a non-profit, nongovernment membership organization. Its mission is advancing water resources management, research and education through publication of a refereed journal (yes, technical publications have referees, too), a magazine, and by convening three or four water resources conferences a year.

What distinguishes AWRA from other water organizations is that it is multidisciplinary. In other words, its members, rather than all civil engineers or hydrologists, span a spectrum of professions including, law, economics, forestry, biology, ecology, anyone whose primary interest is water.

I've been employed by AWRA for the last thirteen years as Technical Director. What is a Technical Director? If you happen to be in Middleburg and see a bunch of technicals running around, you'll see me directing them. Oh, never mind, after that last sentence, I may be unemployed.

So what about WWF6?

It's got to be professional wrestling, right? Wrong.

It stands for the 6th World Water Forum held in Marseille, France, March 12-17, 2012. I was one of six AWRA delegates to the forum that drew 25,000 attendees worldwide. The forums are convened by the World Water Council (WWC) also headquartered in France.

Ken Reid of Middleburg, AWRAs Executive Vice President, is one of only three Americans on the WWC Board of Governors, a real feather in AWRA's collective hat.

Daily concurrent forum sessions covered a wide range of water resources topics. A few were: water as a basic human right; international water law; global groundwater governance; corporate water governance; water security; water and agriculture; and the water-energy nexus.

AWRA was specifically tasked to prepare and manage sessions on Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM). An abridged definition of IWRM is: A comprehensive, participatory tool for managing and developing water resources while balancing sustainable social and economic needs with ecosystem needs.

I know, that's a mouthful. AWRA directly ran or managed 10 highly successful sessions on IWRM over five days. I served as recorder for four IWRM sessions.

Probably even more valuable than the sessions were the networking opportunities to share ideas with other water professionals. I made new contacts with water professionals from such diverse countries as Jordan, Brazil, and Moldova to name a few.

I came away from the Forum with an enhanced understanding of the multiple problems/issues facing water resources professionals worldwide, from the most simple - basic water and sanitation needs for people in developing countries - to more sophisticated issues such as IWRM that become more useful after basic needs are met.

With 25,000 dedicated professionals willing to come together to share problems and provide solutions, I can't help but believe that many of the enduring water resources problems worldwide will be solved during the 21st century.