Governor Doyle’s 2006 Water Conservation Symposium
Demand-Side Management Strategies for Water Utilities
Hosted by:
Public Service Commission of Wisconsin
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Blue Harbor Conference Center
Sheboygan, Wisconsin
Registration: http://www.eventsmanaged.com/forms/psc/registration.html
Recent Wisconsin groundwater legislation and the regional Great Lakes Water Quantity Agreements emphasize that, as a state we need to protect the environment by protecting groundwater and surface water quantity and quality while we continue to ensure the safety of our drinking water supply. Wisconsin water utilities are charged with the responsibility of providing clean water to consumers at reasonable rates. Many utilities already include measures to reduce water use. To address this new directive of reducing water use, and support the Conserve Wisconsin Agenda, Governor Jim Doyle has requested that the PSC and the DNR work with water utilities, consumers, environmental groups and other stakeholders to reduce water use through demand side initiatives. The question of how to reduce water use while continuing to provide safe drinking water at reasonable rates will be the focus of Governor Doyle’s 2006 Water Conservation Symposium.
As part of the Water Conservation Initiative contained in Governor Doyle’s Conserve Wisconsin agenda, the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) are sponsoring this statewide Symposium on demand side management strategies. The Symposium will be the basis for the PSC/DNR report to the Governor on options for reducing water use. In particular water utility managers, elected officials, local and state government officials, and concerned citizen are encouraged to attend, learn from invited experts and share their own expertise.. The Symposium will be held on May 23, 2006, at the Blue Harbor Conference Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.
The Symposium will provide an overview of how water demand-side conservation efforts fit into a variety of events and activities including the 2004 groundwater legislation, Groundwater Advisory Committee efforts, and the recently signed Great Lakes Water Quantity Agreements. The PSC and DNR, along with stakeholders, have been working together to ensure that the Symposium will evaluate effective conservation efforts in the United States and Canada and address water conservation issues unique to Wisconsin. The Symposium will feature nationally renowned speakers on demand-side water conservation proposals including:
· Dr. Janice Beecher – Director of the Institute of
Public Utilities, Michigan State University
· Amy Vickers – President of Amy Vickers &
Associates, Inc., International Consultants on Water Conservation, and author
of Handbook of Water Use and Conservation
· David Broustis – Senior Program Manager for Urban Water
Conservation, Seattle Public Utility
· Cheryl Davis – Manager of Water Supply and Treatment
Division, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, and co-editor
of Navigating Rough Waters: Ethical
Issues in the Water Industry
The Symposium will include a panel discussion from the perspective of multiple Wisconsin stakeholders including water utilities, regional government associations, academics, conservation groups, industrial consumers, agricultural interests, and recreation groups.
If you are interested in attending the Symposium or to learn more about the Water Conservation Initiative, please check the PSC website at http://psc.wi.gov/conservationWater/index-waterConservation.htm for more details. The registration fee is $25 and registration deadline is May 20, 2006.