Greater Vision 2017 - New Frontiers Water Forum
There are few, if any, bigger issues on the Central Coast than water availability for residents and business ranging from Salinas Valley agriculture to Monterey Peninsula hospitality. So perhaps it’s little surprise that the Greater Vision 2017 New Frontiers Water Forum is the largest so far in an 11-year conference series organized by the CSU Monterey Bay and the Grower-Shipper Association Foundation.— Jim Johnson, Monterey Herald
Global Innovations for Local Solutions
Over 200 policy makers, water managers, business and community leaders, engaged citizens, and students came together at this year’s Greater Vision New Frontiers Water Forum to explore new vistas in water management for residential, agricultural, and industrial needs for California’s Central Coast.
Andrew Lawson, Dean of the CSUMB College of Science, said that the Forum delivered “a day of engaging discussions resulting in a deeper understanding of our water challenges and solutions.”
The Forum’s keynote speaker was Dr. David L. Sedlak, the Malozemoff Professor at UC Berkeley; Co-Director of the Berkeley Water Center; and Deputy Director of the NSF Engineering Research Center for Reinventing the Nation’s Urban Water Infrastructure.
The capnote speaker, Doc Hendley, Founder and President of Wine To Water, and 2009 CNN Hero, spoke about his journey toward becoming a high-impact social entrepreneur and activist. He emphasized the immense power of relationships to transcend perceived barriers to water availability.
Hendley’s foundation, Wine to Water, raises funds through wine tastings to repair broken wells, install rainwater harvesting tanks, and other sanitation modalities. Doc Hendley took personal risks to do the hard work of providing access to water as well as clean water education around the globe. He is the author of Wine to Water: How One Man Saved Himself While Trying to Save the World (Penguin Random House, 2012).
In a variety of sessions scheduled throughout the day, 15 expert panelists discussed water allocation pricing systems, high-efficiency/minimum-impact desalination, rainwater capture, modern large-scale water recycling, energy efficiency in water management, water clean-up and reuse, and integrated water management.
The Forum was an acclaimed success and provided an opportunity for a much-needed dialog about innovative, best-practice solutions to critical and urgent water problems in the tri-county region and beyond.
This event was made possible by a grant from the Lenore and Dale Meyer Fund of the Community Foundation for Monterey County and was jointly developed and hosted by the College of Business, the College of Science, and the Grower-Shipper Association Foundation.
Keynote Speakers
David L. Sedlak
Malozemoff Professor at UC Berkeley, author of Water 4.0: The Past, Present and Future of the World’s Most Vital Resource (Yale, 2015). & 2014 recipient of the National Water Research Institute Clarke Prize.
Doc Hendley
President of Wine To Water & author of Wine to Water: How One Man Saved Himself While Trying to Save the World (Penguin Random House, 2012)
