This month’s breakfast presentation by the Environmental Professionals Network, which includes an optional joint meeting with the Water Management Association of Ohio, will feature three major initiatives aimed at protecting and improving water quality.
“The importance of water is increasingly on the public’s mind, which is good, but the challenges are significant,” said David Hanselmann, the network’s coordinator and a lecturer in the College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences at The Ohio State University.
The presentation “will help us learn about new and innovative approaches, relevant in Ohio and beyond,” Hanselmann said.
The network is a statewide professional group coordinated by the college’s School of Environment and Natural Resources (SENR).
The association is an organization for citizens, professionals, agencies and others interested in Ohio’s water resources. It has divisions focused on lakes, floodplains, dam safety, stormwater and watersheds.
Details on 3 new initiatives
The event is from 7:15 a.m. to either 9:45 a.m. or noon March 8 in Ohio State’s Nationwide and Ohio Farm Bureau 4-H Center, 2201 Fred Taylor Drive in Columbus. Speaking will be:
- Radhika Fox, CEO of the Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Water Alliance and director of its Value of Water Coalition, on “One Water, One Future: Securing a Sustainable Water Future for All.”
The alliance “advances policies and programs that build a sustainable water future for all,” according to its website. The coalition is the group’s education initiative.
- Larry Antosch, senior director of program innovation and environmental policy for the Ohio Farm Bureau Federation, on “Healthy Water Ohio: A Strategy for Water Resource Management.”
The Healthy Water Ohio initiative, its website says, “aims to develop a long-range plan that will sustainably meet current and future water needs while enhancing the economy and quality of life for all Ohioans.”
- Susan Ashbrook, assistant director of sustainability for the city of Columbus’s Department of Public Utilities, on “Blueprint Columbus: Clean Streams, Strong Neighborhoods.”
The Blueprint Columbus plan aims to eliminate sanitary sewer overflows while creating new local infrastructure jobs and beautifying neighborhoods.
Sign up by March 7
Registration for the event is $10 for the network’s portion of the event only, which includes a full breakfast and Fox’s talk and ends at 9:45 a.m.; or $25 for the full combined program, which also includes Antosch’s and Ashbrook’s presentations and ends at noon.
Student registration to either option is free and includes breakfast. Registration to both options is open to the public.
The deadline to register is noon March 7. Details and a link to register are at go.osu.edu/March2016EPN.
For more information, contact Hanselmann at hanselmann.3@osu.edu or 614-247-1908.
Sponsoring the event are the Brown and Caldwell engineering consulting firm; Stantec, which provides engineering, consulting and design services; and Ohio State’s Global Water Initiative.
The free student registrations and breakfasts are being provided by SENR, the Energy Management and Sustainability program in Ohio State’s Office of Student Life, and the university’s Office of Energy and Environment.