Beneath all the concrete, Los Angeles is alive with water. But for too long, we have treated it as something to bury, pollute, and take for granted — paving over not just our waterways, but our imagination of what a truly resilient region could look like.
Join us this year as we celebrate the leaders recycling, restoring, and reimagining how Los Angeles manages its most essential resource, and help bring together the partnerships, capital, and collective will to make this vision a reality.
About LA Waterkeeper
For more than 30 years, LA Waterkeeper has been an uncompromising and unwavering advocate for our region’s waters. We do the dirty work for clean water, and are at the center of efforts to move the region towards equitable and climate-resilient water supplies.
Demonstrate your commitment to clean water, healthy communities, and access to safe beaches and waterways. Our sponsorship opportunities also offer exposure and brand promotion to LA Waterkeeper's community and beyond.
About Making Waves 2026
The January 2025 wildfires and this spring’s industrial emergencies exposed the fragility of systems we’ve long taken for granted. They also made one thing clear: investing in a resilient local water future is no longer optional.
With LA28 on the horizon and more than $20 billion in regional water infrastructure investment anticipated over the next two decades, the decisions made now will determine whether LA repeats the mistakes of the past or designs systems truly built to last.
More than a brunch and awards ceremony, Making Waves 2026 will bring together the advocates, public agencies, funders, investors, and builders working to deliver the water future Southern California deserves.
Join us as we celebrate the progress LA has made toward more resilient water systems and ask what it will take to accelerate that progress: how do we finance the transformation this region needs at the scale and speed it demands?
For more than 30 years, LA Waterkeeper has helped drive the LA’s most significant water investments. We don’t just celebrate progress. We help make it happen.
Purchase a sponsorship or individual ticket today and be part of the clean water movement.
MEET OUR 2026 HONOREES
Groundwater Replenishment Project Expansion
Los Angeles’ expansion of the Groundwater Replenishment Project at the Tillman Water Reclamation Plant is a bold investment in the region’s water future.
Set to be completed ahead of the 2028 Olympics, the project shows what is possible when advocacy, public investment, strong leadership, and institutional will align. Once complete, Tillman will provide a significant share of LA’s locally sourced water and help prove that resilient infrastructure can be delivered at the scale and speed our future requires.
LA Waterkeeper has been proud to work alongside LADWP and LASAN to advance a faster, more cost-effective approach and champion local water recycling as a resilient, reliable path forward.
We are honored to celebrate the team bringing this vision to life.
Accelerate Resilience Los Angeles
What if Los Angeles had the trust, relationships, and shared vision to turn isolated investments into a truly resilient system?
Accelerate Resilience LA (ARLA) is helping build that connective tissue. The nonprofit directs resources to communities and organizations strengthening the relationships between people and place, creating the conditions for both communities and ecosystems to thrive.
At Making Waves, ARLA invites funders to think differently about infrastructure: flexible resources, long-term capacity, and the trust communities need to shape their own futures.
At a moment of overlapping crises and growing uncertainty, those investments may be among the most consequential funders can make.
LA Waterkeeper is proud to honor ARLA’s vision that a water-resilient Los Angeles depends not only on the right projects, but on the right relationships.
PRESENTING SPONSOR
“SA Recycling is recognized as a world leader in the metal recycling and processing industry, with more than 140 locations in 15 states. […]
SA Recycling is committed to environmental sustainability, and we recognize the importance of protecting our planet’s natural resources. With the support of our customers, recycling reduces the need for mining, lowers production costs for metal manufacturers and helps deliver quality metal products throughout the world. This is all part of our strategic approach to intelligent resource management and re-use. SA Recycling is Recycling Redefined.”