EVENT
Two-day summit at the Dew Drop Inn will bring journalists, artists, researchers, public officials and community leaders together to examine water, environmental resilience and the future of the Gulf Coast.
By Kim M. Braud | September 13, 2026
NEW ORLEANS - Water, policy, culture and the future of New Orleans will converge September 17–18 as The Water Collaborative of Greater New Orleans hosts the NOLA Water Summit 2026: Keep Ya Head Up at the historic Dew Drop Inn.
The two-day gathering will bring together residents, artists, entrepreneurs, researchers, journalists, public officials and advocates to examine the environmental and social challenges facing New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, and the solutions communities are developing in response.
This year’s theme, “Keep Ya Head Up,” reflects what organizers describe as the complexity of living in modern New Orleans: confronting difficult environmental and social realities while continuing to move forward.
The summit was developed in partnership with the Brackish Artists Collective, a program of The Water Collaborative that brings local artists into conversations surrounding water, climate resilience and environmental advocacy.
The program divides the summit into two distinct areas of focus, beginning with art, culture and media on Thursday before turning toward public policy on Friday.
Journalism, Water and the Stories We Tell
Award-winning journalist Michelle Miller Morial will deliver the opening keynote Thursday morning.
Miller Morial, whose reporting includes coverage of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, will discuss her experiences covering the region and lessons from her career in journalism, followed by a question-and-answer session.
The role of media itself will then become part of the discussion.
A Media Roundtable: Moving from Media Sensationalism to Policy Change will examine water-data access, consumer advocacy, transparency and the distinction between attention-grabbing coverage and reporting that helps the public understand complex environmental issues.
The panel is scheduled to include John Sabo, director of Tulane University’s ByWater Institute; Katy Reckdahl, editor at The Lens; content creator Aubrey Avocado; and Charles Sutcliffe, senior advisor for resilience at the National Wildlife Federation.
Jessica Dandridge-Smith, executive director of The Water Collaborative, will moderate the discussion.
Thursday afternoon shifts from journalism to art with “The Waves that Weave Us Together: Water and Art Sensory Experience.”
Designed by the Brackish Artist Advisory Committee, the immersive program will use multiple senses to explore people’s relationships with water and the role it plays in life throughout the region.
Policy Takes Center Stage Friday
The second day of the summit turns toward policy, data and civic engagement.
Louisiana State Sen. Royce Duplessis, D-New Orleans, will open the day’s primary programming with a “Waterside Chat.”
Duplessis is scheduled to discuss two water-quality measures passed during Louisiana’s 2026 legislative session, along with public service, civic engagement and ways residents can participate in the policymaking process surrounding Louisiana’s water and ecosystems.
The conversation will be followed by “The Truth Hurts: Breaking Down Why Louisiana is 50th in the Nation.”
Anissa Hyde, a data analyst at The Data Center, and The Water Collaborative will examine economic and social conditions affecting Louisiana and New Orleans using information from The Data Center’s Pathways to Prosperity report and The Water Collaborative’s 2026 Legislative Report.
The session is intended to provide a data-driven foundation for understanding some of the challenges facing communities across the region and the policies connected to them.
A lunchtime discussion, “Let’s Keep it Real: Discussion with Local Policy Leaders,” will continue the policy conversation with representatives working in environmental, energy, labor and housing issues.
Scheduled participants include Liz Russell, Louisiana state director for Environmental Defense Fund; Jackson Voss, government affairs and policy coordinator for the Alliance for Affordable Energy; Peter Robins Brown, assistant to the president of the Louisiana AFL-CIO; and Nicole Barnes, executive director of Jericho Road Episcopal Housing Initiative.
Honoring New Orleans’ Water Legacy
The summit concludes Friday evening with The Water Gala, recognizing three people whose work has contributed to New Orleans’ water and environmental landscape.
Honorees include David Waggonner, founding principal of Waggonner & Ball and a driving force behind the Greater New Orleans Urban Water Plan, and Andreas Hoffmann, founder of Green Light New Orleans.
The evening will also include a special award dedication honoring Keree Blanks, a former Water Collaborative team member and community liaison whose contributions to the organization and community will be remembered.
The 2026 gathering follows the organization’s inaugural NOLA Water Week in 2025, which The Water Collaborative says drew more than 1,000 participants across events and field excursions.
For a city shaped by the Mississippi River, Lake Pontchartrain, rainfall, hurricanes, subsidence and an extensive network of drainage and flood-protection infrastructure, the summit places water at the center of a broader conversation about how New Orleans lives with its environment, and how decisions made today could shape the region’s future.
EVENT DETAILS
NOLA Water Summit 2026: Keep Ya Head Up
September 17–18, 2026
Dew Drop Inn
2836 LaSalle Street
New Orleans, Louisiana 70115
Thursday, September 17 - Art & Cultural Day
Doors open: 8 a.m.
9:30 a.m. Keynote with Michelle Miller Morial
11 a.m. Media Roundtable: Moving from Media Sensationalism to Policy Change
1:30 p.m. The Waves that Weave Us Together: Water and Art Sensory Experience
4:15 p.m. Closing Ceremony
Friday, September 18 - Policy Day
Doors open: 8 a.m.
9:30 a.m. Waterside Chat with State Sen. Royce Duplessis
11 a.m. The Truth Hurts: Breaking Down Why Louisiana is 50th in the Nation
12:30 p.m. Let’s Keep it Real: Discussion with Local Policy Leaders
Evening The Water Gala
The summit is open to the public. Registration and additional event information are available through The Water Collaborative.
Kim M. Braud is the Founder & Editor of Evans Cutchmore Press, an independent newsroom covering Louisiana and the Gulf South. Her reporting focuses on government accountability, infrastructure, business, culture, and the public policies that shape communities.
© 2026 Evans Cutchmore Press. All rights reserved.
