The shape of the two days
WaterSmart Innovations runs 21-23 October 2026 at the Oregon Convention Center, 777 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Portland. These two days are Thursday 22 and Friday 23 October.
Thursday runs from an 8:30 a.m. opening session to a 6:30 p.m. close. Friday runs from 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Wednesday 21 October is the paid add-on day, and it sits in front of both.
Wednesday 21 October: the day you pay for
Registration opens at 7 a.m. and closes at 5 p.m. Pre-conference workshops run 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and tours run across the same span. Both carry a fee of $90 to $180, and neither sits inside the conference registration.
The workshop list carries its own clocks. PCW01 runs 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at $180 and caps at 48 people. PCW02, PCW04 and PCW06 run 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. at $90. PCW05 runs 1 to 5 p.m. at $90. PCW03 is a focus group from 1 to 5 p.m. with no fee, and it is not eligible for a certificate of completion.
The tours start early. T2 leaves at 7 a.m. and returns at 12:30 p.m., costs $90 and caps at 20 people. T3 runs 11:45 a.m. to 5 p.m., costs $90 and caps at 24. T1, the Bull Run watershed tour, is sold out.
The evening holds the Students and Young Professionals Connect from 6 to 8 p.m.
Thursday 22 October: the long floor
Registration opens at 7 a.m. and runs to 6 p.m. The Opening General Session starts at 8:30 a.m. and ends at 9:30 a.m. Kari Vigerstol, senior advisor for water scarcity and resilience at The Nature Conservancy, gives it.
The exhibit hall opens at 9:30 a.m. and stays open to 6:30 p.m. Morning sessions run 10 to 11:30 a.m. Lunch sits in the exhibit hall from 11:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. Afternoon sessions run 1:15 to 4:45 p.m.
The hall and the sessions share the day. A delegate who works the floor gives up the session blocks, and a delegate who sits in sessions sees the floor in the gaps.
The day ends in the hall. The cocktail reception runs 4:45 to 6:30 p.m.
Friday 23 October: the floor shuts at 2
Registration opens at 8 a.m. and closes at 3:30 p.m. Morning sessions run 8:30 to 11:45 a.m. The exhibit hall opens at 10 a.m. and closes at 2 p.m. Lunch runs 11:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the hall. Afternoon sessions run 2 to 4:45 p.m.
Friday gives four hours on the floor and two blocks of sessions. The hall closes at 2 p.m., and the last session ends at 4:45 p.m.
The airport run
The venue publishes eight miles between the building and Portland International Airport. The MAX Red Line is the rail link.
DoubleTree by Hilton Portland guests receive complimentary MAX passes. The organiser lists the hotel-to-centre leg, travel across Portland and the Red Line to PDX at no cost with the pass.
A delegate without the pass pays $2.80 as an adult fare, good for 2.5 hours, with a $5.60 day cap. The tap goes on the green Hop reader with a contactless bank card or a phone.
The hotel-to-centre leg takes about 5 minutes across one or two stops, with trains every 15 minutes or less. The walk is half a mile, 5 to 10 minutes through the Lloyd District.
Collect the credit before you leave
Certificates of completion come through the AWWA Events app. A delegate enters a check-in code at the start of a session and a check-out code at the end. The login is a last name plus the number under the barcode on the confirmation email and badge.
WSI 2026 is pre-approved for operator CEUs in California, Colorado under CCWP number 26-11624, Florida, Illinois under IEPA number 23917, Oregon under OESAC number 7755 and Wyoming. Other state applications are pending.
Certificate processing takes 14 days.
Online registration stays open through the week. Onsite registration sits in the Lobby of Exhibit Hall A.