Symposium Highlights Watershed Protection Benefits
Protecting and managing forested watersheds to help ensure water supplies and to reduce drinking water treatment and storage costs is the theme of an upcoming symposium at the American Water Works Association’s 2014 Sustainable Water Management Conference, to be held March 29 – April 2 in Denver, Colorado. The Symposium is being organized by the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities (the Endowment).
“About two-thirds of the fresh water in the U.S. originates in a forested watershed,” notes Carlton Owen, the Endowment’s President and CEO. “Healthy, well-managed forests produce clean water. Increasing evidence suggests that clean water costs less to treat and store. It’s therefore in the best economic interests of water consumers to ensure that their forested watersheds are protected and well-managed.”
Presentations at the symposium will provide first-hand examples of forested watershed protection benefits around the country. Todd Gartner, Senior Associate & Natural Infrastructure for Water Manager at the World Resources Institute, will speak on the economic benefits of forested watershed protection and management. Gartner recently co-authored Natural Infrastructure – Investing in Forested Landscapes for Source Water Protection in the United States, the most comprehensive review of the subject to date. Jeff Hughes, Director of the Environmental Finance Center at the School of Government, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, will describe watershed finance partnerships in the Upper Neuse River of North Carolina, which provides water to Raleigh. Raleigh recently created a small watershed protection fee that supports watershed protection efforts. Tracy Mehan, a Principal at The Cadmus Group, Inc., and a watershed protection consultant to the Endowment, will review national efforts to develop funding sources for source water protection and talk about “beneficiary pays” approaches to watershed protection and management. Adam Carpenter, Regulatory Analyst with the American Water Works Association, will moderate the symposium.
The water sector is facing a progressive period in which water management is being completely re-examined. New technologies and management approaches are allowing water utilities to diversify their water portfolios as never before. This year, the Sustainable Water Management Conference will present solutions for a variety of issues and challenges facing the water sector, including direct potable reuse, managing stormwater in the urban environment, integrated watershed management planning, balancing water conservation with revenue needs, green infrastructure, and more.
The Endowment’s “Healthy Watersheds through Healthy Forests” Initiative focuses on supporting community-driven efforts to protect their forested watersheds. Through a partnership with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service it co-funded the Raleigh effort that resulted in creation of a watershed protection fee. The Endowment is also partnering with the American Water Works Association and others to advance watershed protection within the water community.
