LAS VEGAS (November 2) – More than
900 professionals working in a wide range of water-related disciplines
participated in the seventh annual WaterSmart Innovations Conference and
Exposition, October 8-10, 2014 in Las Vegas.
Founded in 2007 by a team of
leaders in the water, energy, and non profit sectors at Harvard Business
School, Imagine H2O seeks to inspire and empower people to solve water
problems.
Imagine H2O hosts an annual prize
competition for water innovation and offers an accelerator program to
help entrepreneurs turn their plans into real-world solutions.
As it has since its inception in
2008, WSI emphasized the sharing of ideas and best practices to help
local communities achieve greater water efficiency and conservation,
said Program Chairman Doug Bennett.
WSI participants comprised
professionals from 36 states and the District of Columbia, as well as
Australia, Brazil, Canada, Egypt, France, Japan, Mexico, The
Netherlands, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
“WaterSmart is meeting a critical
need for communities with challenged water supplies,” said Bennett, who
also is Conservation Manager for the Southern Nevada Water Authority
(SNWA). “People leave the event with concepts and resources they can
deploy quickly. That’s particularly important in drought-affected
regions.”
The WSI program featured an
opening keynote address by Sandra Postel, founder of Global Water Policy
Project. She also is co-creator of Change the Course, the national
freshwater restoration campaign undertaken by National Geographic and
its partners, and piloted in the Colorado River Basin.
In addition, a luncheon featured
the presentation of the WaterSense Partner of the Year Awards by the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense Program and the
Alliance for Water Efficiency.
The SNWA again presented WSI in
partnership with the Alliance for Water Efficiency, American Water Works
Association, Audubon International, California Landscape Contractors
Association, California Urban Water Conservation Council, Green Plumbers
USA, the U.S. EPA’s WaterSense Program, International Association of
Plumbing and Mechanical Officials, International Center for Water
Technology, International Code Council, Irrigation Association and
Imagine H2O.
Agency supporters included Denver
Water, San Diego County Water Authority, City of Phoenix Water Services
Department, Central Arizona Project, Metropolitan Water District of
Southern California and the Water Conservation Coalition.
The eighth Annual WSI conference
and expo is slated for October 7-9, 2015, at the South Point Hotel and
Conference Center in Las Vegas. More information is available at
www.WaterSmartInnovations.com.
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