Oct. 30 - Nov. 2, 2003

Center for Technology & Environment
Harvard School of Design

Cambridge, Massachusetts USA

Space limited - register now! [ click here ]

Integrated Water Management: Implementing Water Conservation and Reuse Programs
[For presenter bios, click here]

Glen Lindgren, P.E., M.B.A., CH2M-Hill
Mary Jo Kealy, Ph.D., Principal Economist, CH2M-Hill
Richard M. DÕAmato II, P.E., Global Program Director for Water & Processes, Energy and Industrial Systems Business Group, CH2M-Hill
Jim Bays, wetlands engineer, CH2M-Hill
with case studies from conference presenters
$175

Topics covered:
The Need for an Integrated Approach
The Importance of Watersheds to Multiple Parties
Quantification and Valuation of Watershed Services: The Key to Incorporating Sustainability into Economic Systems
A Systematic Approach to Water Management - 7 Steps
Defining Technical Solutions and Determining Feasibility
The Growing Role of Natural Treatment Systems
Total Cost Assessment Public Private Partnerships
Case Studies: Municipal, Industrial, Agriculture, Power Generation
Locations: Singapore; Massachusetts, California, Georgia, Mexico
Rationale for an Integrated Approach:
Water resources cannot, as they have in the past, be forever expanded to accommodate ever-growing consumption. In the last 70 years, world population has tripled while per capita consumption has doubled, resulting in a 600% increase in total demand. For industrial, municipal, and agricultural water users alike, the growing strain on water resources has been accompanied by rising costs for fresh water, wastewater treatment, pollution mitigation, and storm water discharge. There is also a greater risk of disruption to supply, fiercer stakeholder disputes, and stricter government regulation. Tighter conditions of supply and demand as well as a growing appreciation for the value of natural resources and the services they provide, call for a new approach to water use and water resource management. Up to now, the conventional approach has focused on complying with regulations and finding specific solutions to specific needs: water for industry, irrigation, human consumption, energy generation, and ecosystem preservation, without seeing each element as part of a larger system that needs to be managed holistically.

As the demands of different stakeholders come into head-to-head competition and as cost and risk continue to escalate, success or failure to optimally manage water use and water resources will determine whether or not a corporation, a municipality, or a nation can compete in the marketplace and whether or not the ecosystems on which they depend will survive. A "systems" or "ecological" approach is needed, that reaches beyond simple regulatory compliance or scope- limited solutions, in order to meet the needs of all stakeholders and to allow for profitable business operations, ecosystem survival and continued economic growth. "Integrated Water Management" is one of several phrases that can be used to describe this approach. Corporations and governments who understand this trend and who grasp the changing paradigm in water use and water resources management will be better positioned to mitigate risk and environmental impacts, to reduce costs associated with fresh water, wastewater and storm water, to identify new market opportunities and to enhance shareholder and stakeholder value.

Presenters:

Glen Lindgren has a diverse systems engineering and business background, including 10 years as a systems engineer in the water treatment industry at an equipment manufacturing company that helped pioneer the use of membranes for water purification and fluid separations. This experience has given him a unique insight into the industry perspective on water management. Mr. Lindgren couples this experience with a business education at Cornell University's Johnson Graduate School of Management, which he has put to good Òfield useÓ over the past 3 years at CH2M HILL. Mr. Lindgren has performed and managed technical, economic, and market evaluations in the areas of industrial wastewater treatment, water management, watershed characterization, tax policy, environmental management systems, facilities management, energy efficiency, renewable energy, and sustainable development. Mr. Lindgren recently co-authored Industrial Water ManagementÑA Systems Approach with some of the top experts at CH2M HILL. This book, published by the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, incorporates firmwide industrial experience to provide a comprehensive guide to water management for reuse and conservation.

 

Mary Jo Kealy, Ph.D., Principal Economist, CH2M-Hill, has over 20 years experience as a professional economist, specializing in the valuation of environmental amenities using cost-benefit analysis, risk-benefit analysis, Habitat Equivalency Analysis (HEA), and Net Environmental Benefit Analysis (NEBA). Dr. Kealy assists clients with evaluating ecological trade-offs in a variety of contexts including, water resource management, NEPA documentation, regulatory compliance (e.g., NRDA, CWA, RCRA), FERC licensing, and permitting. For over 25 NRD cases, she conducted economic assessments of lost services and service gains provided by proposed compensatory restoration projects. She is involved in several on-going water resource allocation projects involving diverse stakeholder interests and ecological values. Examples include water withdrawals in the Great Lakes Basin, inter-basin water transfer in Texas, and hydropower relicensing in Oregon/California. While a senior economist with the USEPA, Dr. Kealy served on the Council of Economic Advisors' interagency task force on valuation, conducted research on economic valuation of environmental benefits, including ecological-economic modeling and, developed surveys to assess economic benefits of water quality improvements. Dr. Kealy has authored over 20 journal articles and research reports. She holds Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, was an Associate Professor of Economics at Colgate University, served on the Editorial Board of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, and was nominated to serve on the PresidentÕs Council of Economic Advisors.

Richard M. DÕAmato II, P.E. is currently the Global Program Director for Water & Processes in CH2M HillÕs Energy and Industrial Systems Business group. Mr. DÕAmato has worked for CH2M Hill for over 11 years providing water, wastewater, energy, and operations related services to industrial, utility, and federal clients. Mr. DÕAmato is a licensed Professional Engineer in Georgia, and is a certified wastewater operator at the highest grade in both Virginia and Tennessee. Mr. DÕAmato received a MS in Environmental Systems Engineering from Clemson University, and BS in Civil Engineering from The State University of New York, at Buffalo.


[ top of page ]