National Leadership Conference to Discuss Green Infrastructure

On Sept. 19, the White House Council on Environmental Quality and U.S. EPA (EPA) convened experts from around the country to explore the barriers and solutions to using “more green and less gray” in managing municipal storm water. The U.S. Water Alliance will expand the dialogue by presenting the 3rd annual Urban Water Sustainability Leadership Conference Oct. 15 to 17 in Cincinnati. “This is an event still small enough to engage all attendees while large and diverse enough to grow the conversation,” said Ben Grumbles, U.S. Water Alliance president. “We’re convening leaders from all sectors and regions, continuing key discussions from last week, engaging the regulators, expanding the audiences and opening minds by presenting innovative approaches.”

The Leadership Conference is co-hosted by the CONFLUENCE Water and Technology Cluster of Greater Cincinnati. Influential policy makers will headline including The Honorable Nancy Sutley, chair of the President’s Council on Environmental Quality, and EPA's Nancy Stoner, acting assistant administrator for Water. As in past years, the leadership conference will shine a light on the best municipal models. Teams will present their cross-department/agency, community and business partnerships to demonstrate the environmental, economic and social benefits of their programs. The Spotlight team presentations from Cleveland (North East Ohio Regional Sewer District); Denver; Kansas City, Kan.; Syracuse, N.Y.(Onondaga County); and Tucson, Ariz. (Pima County) will be complemented by Strategic Sidebars—small group conversations that identify opportunities and ways around obstacles. Roundtable Discussions will generate and share fresh ideas and new perspectives. 

There is enthusiastic support from the private and consulting communities as they elevate the best models in green infrastructure. The leadership conference is underwritten in-part by a grant from the United Water Foundation with additional support from CH2M Hill, CDM Smith, Brown & Caldwell, Hatch Mott MacDonald, Black & Veatch, ARCADIS, Burns & McDonnell, AECOM and MWH Global. 

Supporting partner organizations include the Alliance for Water Efficiency, American Rivers, Arbor Day Foundation, Association of Clean Water Administrators, Denver Botanic Gardens, Green for All, Low Impact Development Center, National Association of Clean Water Agencies, Sustainable Urban Forests Coalition, The Conservation Fund, WateReuse Association and the WateReuse Research Foundation.  

The leadership conference is organized annually by the U.S. Water Alliance’s Urban Water Sustainability Council. Through this educational forum, the council seeks to connect water, land use, parks, forests, transportation, energy, agriculture and other sectors around the goal of revitalizing cities with multi-benefit projects that produce triple bottom line results.

Source: U.S. Water Alliance