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Water Cities of the Future

Reality Bites: Forging Water Resilience When Confronting Against Climate Adversity

A thought provoking, engaging discussion on the pivotal role of water in cities and the need for unconventional thinking to create resilient, future-proof water systems.

Tue, Oct 1, 2024

9:00am MT

Sponsored 

by

Organized

by

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A follow-up thought-provoking discussion on how leading global cities have developed an integrated water and urban planning strategy and with and urban planning strategy to ensure a water resilient future.


Overview


By 2050, seven out of 10 people are expected to live in cities. As cities continue to grow, so does their exposure to climate and disaster risk. Rapid urbanisation is inevitable and will bring additional infrastructure challenges, particularly on water.  Which cities and utilities are being proactive and getting it right? What can others learn from their lessons so far?


The second in a three-part discussion series dives into practical cases, showcasing city and utilities leading the way when it comes to building a resilient water supply to counter scarcity, as well as reengineering city infrastructure to better handle too much water.

The lively discussion will be a thought-provoking, engaging, fun and lively conversation. Not to be missed.

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​WHO SHOULD ATTEND

 

  • Water utilities

  • Investors

  • Engineering consultancies

  • Urban planners and city officials

  • Technology entrepreneurs

AGENDA

Tuesday, October 1, 2024

9:00am - 10:00am

All times listed in US Denver Mountain time

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9:00 am 

Welcome Remarks

Tom Freyberg, Founder & Director, Atlantean Media

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• Welcome and event overview

• Why are we holding this session

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9:05 am

Setting the Stage

Will Sarni, Practice Lead, Water and Nature, Earth Finance/Water Foundry

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• What are Water Cities of the Future

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9:10 am

Water in Las Vegas

David L. Johnson, Deputy General Manager of Operations, Las Vegas Valley Water District and Southern Nevada Water Authority

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• Overview of the utility operations, size and challenges (i.e. fluctuating population)

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9:15 am

Panel Discussion 

Facilitator: Tom Freyberg, Founder & Director, Atlantean Media
Panelists:
Will Sarni, Practice Lead, Water and Nature, Earth Finance/Water Foundry
Cecília Correia, Senior Water Solutions Manager, Bentley Systems
David L. Johnson, Deputy General Manager of Operations, Las Vegas Valley Water District and Southern Nevada Water Authority

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A panel discussion, with live audience question-and-answers.

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9:30am

Halftime Q&A

Facilitator: Tom Freyberg, Founder & Director, Atlantean Media

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Live audience question-and-answers

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9:55 am

Q&A Closing Remarks

Tom Freyberg, Founder & Director, Atlantean Media
Will Sarni, Practice Lead, Water and Nature, Earth Finance/Water Foundry

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Session wrap-up and audience take-aways.

Conference Format

Hosted on an exciting and interactive virtual event platform, this event series features a virtual auditorium, plus audience interaction via Q&A and Polls.

Agenda

PANELISTS

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Tom Freyberg

Founder & Director
Atlantean Media

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Tom Freyberg believes that everyone has a story to tell. An award-winning environmental journalist, he has had articles and comments published in The Times, The Guardian, CNN, the Grocer magazine and a Swedish institute publication, WaterFront. Spending nearly a decade traveling the globe and reporting on projects from Latin America to the Middle East and Southeast Asia, this opened his eyes to the water challenges and solutions available around the world. A graduate of the University of Exeter, Tom founded Atlantean Media in 2018 as a boutique digital content and media company. The company was born out of a need to bring engineering-based content to life and now represents and advises public and private-sector clients across the water and climate-tech space. The mission? To connect people to water through creative content. As well as being the content director for Aquatech Global events, Tom is the co-creator and co-host of The Stream with Will and Tom podcast together with Will Sarni, the host of online talk show QTalks by Qatium, as well as co-founder of KnowH2Ow - a marketing and communication training hub for water professionals.

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Will Sarni

Will Sarni, Practice Lead, Water and Nature
Water Foundry, an Earth Finance company

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Will is an internationally recognized thought leader on water strategy and innovation. He has authored numerous books and articles and presented on: the value of water, innovations in digital water technology, the circular economy, and the energy-water-food nexus. He has been a water strategy advisor to private and public-sector enterprises and NGOs for his entire career.

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Cecília Correia 

Senior Water Solutions Manager
Bentley Systems 

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​Cecília Correia is Senior Water Solutions Manager with Bentley Systems. She has 19 years of experience in the water sector, having worked in different areas, such as governmental river basin administration, engineering consultants, water utilities, and software providers for water solutions. Cecília has experience in consultancy, design, modelling, and sales as part of her competencies in her professional journey. Prior to joining Bentley, she was Sales Manager for AGS and Country Manager for DHI in Lisbon, Portugal. She also worked as a Water Resources Engineer with RSS and Viaponte. Today, Cecília is part of Bentley’s Water Team, with a focus on digital solutions and partnerships, and aims to support empowering water utilities to achieve their strategic goals in water efficiency. She holds an Engineering degree from University of Evora Portugal.

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David L. Johnson

Deputy General Manager of Operations
Las Vegas Valley Water District and Southern Nevada Water Authority

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​David L. Johnson is the Deputy General Manager of Operations at the Las Vegas Valley Water District and Southern Nevada Water Authority. He has been with the organization since 2004 and manages five departments with more than 600 employees within the Water Quality & Treatment; Operations; Information Technology; Human Resources; and Environmental, Health and Safety and Corporate Security departments. These departments are primarily responsible for the protection, treatment, and distribution of millions of gallons of safe drinking water within Southern Nevada to 2.2 million residents and visitors every day. With over 30 years of experience in management relating to water supply, water quality and treatment, and chemical manufacturing in Nevada and New York, David brings innovative and forward-thinking initiatives to Southern Nevada’s water system. He utilizes his knowledge in identifying solutions and launching pilot and full-scale projects to manage key operations of the organization. David serves as Chairman of the Board for WaterStart, a non-profit organization connecting innovative technology companies with global water agencies seeking solutions to enhance operations. David is also a member of the American Water Works Association, WaterReuse Association, American Public Works Association, Water Environment Federation, International Ozone Association and Nevada Water Resources Association. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University and maintains Level 4 Water Treatment and Level 4 Distribution certifications from the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection.

SPONSORS and SUPPORTERS

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Bentley Systems (Nasdaq: BSY) is the infrastructure engineering software company. We provide innovative software to advance the world’s infrastructure – sustaining both the global economy and environment. Our industry-leading software solutions are used by professionals, and organizations of every size, for the design, construction, and operations of water and wastewater utilities, roads and bridges, rail and transit, buildings and campuses, mining, and industrial facilities. Our offerings, powered by the iTwin Platform for infrastructure digital twins, include MicroStation and Bentley Open applications for modeling and simulation (OpenFlows for water infrastructure), Seequent’s software for geoprofessionals, and Bentley Infrastructure Cloud encompassing ProjectWise for project delivery, SYNCHRO for construction management, and AssetWise for asset operations. Bentley Systems’ 5,200 colleagues generate annual revenues of more than $1.2 billion in 194 countries. For more information, visit  www.bentley.com

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Water Foundry is a trusted advisor to select global clients in the public and private sectors and technology providers in solving “wicked water” problems. The firm provides advisory services in strategy, technology innovation and investing. The team has over two decades of experience working with iconic global brands, investors, and water technology companies along with development banks, foundations and water technology hubs, accelerators and prize competitions. We have a point of view that the private sector has a unique opportunity to create catalytic communities of diverse stakeholders to accelerate progress in addressing “wicked water problems.” We also believe there are investable water tech companies focused on digital solutions such as remote sensing and AI, off-grid and decentralized water and water treatment and smart water solutions in the built environment. We are committed to accelerating solutions to water challenges at the intersection of agriculture, energy, and climate to contribute to economic development, business growth, ecosystem health and social well-being.

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Atlantean is a global network of like-minded, creative individuals with a single purpose: to deliver premium, deep and detailed content focused on innovation in water. Forget dreary, mass-produced press releases destined for the trash. Instead think targeted business content with personality.  Engaging. Entertaining. Provoking. Results driven. That’s Atlantean.  Led by award-winning environmental journalist Tom Freyberg, the global media company has over a decade of experience, spanning the world and bringing engineering-based content to life across the water, energy, renewables, recycling and waste management fields. From feature-length content and analysis, to video case studies and interviews, conference organisation and public speaking, not to mention social media, the company’s proven track record can help to put businesses on the map, get noticed and grow.

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Speakers
Sponsors
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