To Register Visit: https://wmao.clubexpress.com/content.aspx?page_id=4002&club_id=259593&item_id=1356435
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
Ohio State’s Environmental Professionals Network (EPN), partnering with the Water Management Association of Ohio (WMAO), the School of Earth Sciences, the Global Water Institute, and TerrAqua (an Ohio State student organization), are co-hosting this virtual event to focus attention on water affordability and equity strategies to support residents in marginalized communities.
Join this event to explore equity strategies for affordable drinking water from the Alliance for the Great Lakes, the Livelihoods Knowledge Exchange Network and Martin County (Kentucky) Concerned Citizens, and affordable wastewater services by the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District in the Cleveland, Ohio region. These respective community-based approaches to navigate the provision of safe, clean water at affordable rates will be reviewed in detail. Presenters will provide place-based roadmaps towards an equitable water future and promising water equity initiatives from a national perspective.
This program is in alignment with the 2021 World Water Day theme, 'Valuing Water,' and seeks to spark conversations surrounding water pricing issues and how such problems affect marginalized societies and our environment. One goal of these presentations is to inspire future dialogues and idea generation to create Ohio-based policies that improve drinking water and wastewater programs and requirements for affordability.
Our virtual event features an educational session (10:00 a.m. -11:15 a.m.) as well as a networking round table session (11:30 a.m. -12:30p.m.) for students with water management professionals from academia, nonprofits, governmental entities, and the private sector, which will be facilitated by EPN, WMAO, School of Earth Sciences, and Global Water Institute. Please refer to the breakout session details in the agenda below for water career topic areas.
AGENDA
9:55 a.m. Waiting room opens
10:00 a.m. Jeff Sharp, PhD, director, School of Environment and Natural Resources (SENR) provides welcome remarks
10:05 a.m. Eugene Braig, program director of aquatic ecosystems (SENR) and board president (WMAO) and Hannah Comune, president, TerrAqua, Environment and Natural Resources major, provide program introduction
10:10 a.m. Crystal M.C. Davis, vice president of policy and strategic engagement, Alliance for the Great Lakes
10:25 a.m. Constance Haqq, chief administrative officer, Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District
10:40 a.m. Betsy Taylor, PhD, founding director and cultural anthropologist, Livelihoods Knowledge Exchange Network
10:55 a.m. Audience Q & A with Davis, Haqq and Taylor
11:15 a.m. Concluding remarks by Dr. Sharp
– Break –
11:30 a.m. Networking roundtables for students and water resource professionals from academia, nonprofits, governmental entities, and the private sector (co-hosted by the EPN, WMAO, School of Earth Sciences, Global Water Institute)
11:35 a.m. Breakout sessions begin
Water career topic areas:
- Floodplains: How do we respond to flood risks and handle stormwater?
- Groundwater: How do we sustain groundwater resources for humans and ecosystems?
- Lake Management / Dam Safety: How do we sustain lake resources for future use?
- Drinking Water / Wastewater: How do we provide for equitable, reliable, and clean water and treat wastewater?
- Agriculture: How do we protect watersheds while maintaining a robust agricultural industry?
- Environmental Education: How do we empower citizens with knowledge about water?
- Climate: How do we prepare for the catastrophic consequences of climate change, from mega-flood to mega-drought?
12:30 p.m. Program concludes
