AWWA ACE (Annual Conference & Exposition) runs on 13-16 June 2027 at San Diego Convention Center. It covers drinking water, wastewater and water treatment.
Photos
Images: AWWA ACE (Annual Conference & Exposition).
- Visitors (2025)
- 8,109
- Exhibitors (2025)
- 433
- How often
- Annual, each June, in a different North American city
- Dates
- 13–16 June 2027
Official show website (opens in a new tab) ace.awwa.org
ACE27, the American Water Works Association’s Annual Conference and Exposition, runs from 13 to 16 June 2027 at the San Diego Convention Center, with the exhibit hall open from Monday 14 to Wednesday 16 June. AWWA calls it North America’s largest annual drinking water conference, and its 2025 edition in Denver drew 8,109 attendees and 433 exhibiting companies on 1,100 booths.
Why water utilities and suppliers go
If you run or supply a water or wastewater utility, ACE puts more than 450 exhibitors, by AWWA’s count, in one hall: pipe, valves, hydrants, meters, leak detection, treatment and utility software, often with working demonstrations on the stand. You can earn Certificates of Completion by scanning in and out of sessions, and AWWA applies each year to state and provincial operator agencies for credit, so a visit can count toward your licence hours. Field operators, small utilities and students get reduced full conference rates. If you exhibit, each 10 by 10 foot booth includes three full conference registrations, a listing in the June issue of Journal AWWA (circulation over 43,000) and pre and post show mailings to attendees.
Dates, hours and passes
| Day | Exhibit hall |
|---|---|
| Sunday 13 June 2027 | closed (registration and pre-conference workshops) |
| Monday 14 June | 10:00 to 17:00 |
| Tuesday 15 June | 09:00 to 17:30 |
| Wednesday 16 June | 09:00 to 13:00 |
Registration opens in mid-December 2026. Early rates, valid until 16 April 2027, are $1,080 for members and $1,420 for non-members for the full conference, $515 and $785 for field operators and small utilities, and $195 for an exhibits-only general pass; utility employees can visit the exhibits for $45 as members or $185 otherwise. Workshops and technical facility tours cost extra. Cancellations on or before 1 April 2027 are refunded less a 25% fee.
What is on
The programme opens with a general session on Monday morning and runs more than 20 educational tracks with hundreds of sessions, plus the Water Industry Luncheon on Tuesday and a wrap party on Wednesday evening. ACE is known for its operator competitions, including pipe tapping, Top Ops, Hydrant Hysteria, the Meter Challenge and the tap water taste test. The headquarters hotel is the Hilton San Diego Bayfront next to the convention centre.
Past and future editions
| Year | City | Dates | Size |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Denver | June | 8,109 attendees, 433 companies, 623 international attendees from 42 countries |
| 2027 | San Diego | 13 to 16 June | more than 450 exhibitors expected |
| 2028 | Atlanta | 4 to 7 June | |
| 2029 | Philadelphia | 10 to 13 June | |
| 2030 | Anaheim | 16 to 19 June |
AWWA traces ACE to its founding meeting in St. Louis in 1881.
Related shows and the venue
ACE is run by the American Water Works Association. The San Diego Convention Center also hosts Intersolar and Energy Storage North America, for solar, storage and EV charging, and WEST, the sea services show. For water technology in Europe, compare Aquatech Amsterdam, which is free to visit and biennial, or ISH in Frankfurt for building water and HVAC. Browse trade shows in San Diego, the energy and environment sector and shows in the United States, and see how show cycles and moving dates affect planning, since ACE changes city every year.
Source: ace.awwa.org
Visiting the show
- Dates
- 13-16 June 2027
- Organiser
- American Water Works Association
- Opening hours
- Exhibit hall: Monday 14 June 2027 10:00 to 17:00; Tuesday 15 June 09:00 to 17:30; Wednesday 16 June 09:00 to 13:00 (Pacific time)
- Admission and tickets
- Registration required, opens mid-December 2026. Early rates to 16 April 2027: full conference $1,080 member / $1,420 non-member; field operator or small utility $515 / $785; exhibits-only general $195; exhibits-only utility employees $45 / $185; students $50 / $85. Workshops and tours extra.
- Audience
- Water and wastewater utility managers, engineers and field operators, small utilities, consultants, public officials, academics, communicators, students and young professionals, and international delegates
- Running alongside
- Operator competitions (pipe tapping, Top Ops, Hydrant Hysteria, Meter Challenge, tap water taste test) and the Water Industry Luncheon run within ACE; no separate co-located show
- How often
- Annual, each June, in a different North American city
- Sectors
- Drinking water, Wastewater, Water treatment, Pipe, valves and hydrants, Metering and leak detection, Utility management and software
Details from the organiser (source: ace.awwa.org, checked 8 November 2026).
Edition history
| Edition | Dates | Venue | Visitors | Exhibitors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2030 | 16-19 June 2030 | Anaheim, CA | ||
| 2029 | 10-13 June 2029 | Philadelphia, PA | ||
| 2028 | 4-7 June 2028 | Atlanta, GA | ||
| 2027 | 13-16 June 2027 | San Diego Convention Center | ||
| 2025 | – | Denver | 8,109 | 433 |
Sources: ace.awwa.org (future ace dates, ace25 stats recap).
Where it takes place
Map loads here.
111 W Harbor Drive, San Diego, CA 92101, United States
View a larger map (opens OpenStreetMap in a new tab) Get directions (opens OpenStreetMap in a new tab)
