On Tuesday, April 3, the Â鶹ӳ» Water Innovation Campus will host the Partnering for Impact - Â鶹ӳ» Water Forum at the Nugget Casino and Resort in Sparks, Â鶹ӳ». The Â鶹ӳ» Water Innovation Campus has partnered with regional water resource agencies and utilities to develop innovative solutions to help promote sustainable water management for economic growth and enrichment of the natural water environment of the Truckee Meadows area.
Along with faculty of the Â鶹ӳ», partners include the Cities of Reno and Sparks, the Truckee Meadows Water Authority, the Western Regional Water Commission and the Â鶹ӳ» Department of Transportation.
The Â鶹ӳ» Water Innovation Campus launched in August 2017 with inventive collaborative research as a prospect from the beginning. With the University developing new approaches and the agencies and utilities implementing them, projects include storm water management, pollution prevention, industrial water and waste issues, water treatment, reclamation and reuse and water quality protection.
"Partnering for Impact - Â鶹ӳ» Water Forum is intended to bring together key Â鶹ӳ» water influencers to explore how we can work more collaboratively to reach water sustainability and resiliency goals, drive economic prosperity, develop the next generation of water professional, and build Â鶹ӳ»'s innovation and research capacity," Rick Warner, Washoe County Senior Engineer and Chair of the Â鶹ӳ» Water Innovation Campus advisory group, said. "Â鶹ӳ» Water Forum attendees will be challenged to create specific implementation actions creating positive and lasting impact throughout Â鶹ӳ»."
Beyond the initial collaborative projects, the Â鶹ӳ» Water Innovation Campus hopes to educate a workforce and community allowing for continued advancements to be made as alliances grow and goals evolve over time.
Claus Homann, Water Environment Federation Trustee and Chief Operating Officer of Aarhus Water, Denmark will moderate the Â鶹ӳ» Water Forum, which will include presentations from the Governor of Â鶹ӳ» Brian Sandoval; Krishna Pagilla, professor of civil and environmental engineering; Warner; President of the Â鶹ӳ» Water Environment Association Nikita Lingenfelter; and the Dean of Engineering at the Â鶹ӳ» Manos Maragakis.
"The College of Engineering conducts world class research, and the Â鶹ӳ» Water Innovation Campus will elevate water innovation to a new level," Maragakis said. "This forum will be an excellent model for university-community collaboration in education, research, and development."
Along with the announcement of the Â鶹ӳ» Water Environment Association 2018 Public Official of the Year Award, members of the Â鶹ӳ» Water Innovation Campus hope that the forum will enable a dialogue between leaders of the public sector and research institutions to seek out each other's needs and establish common objectives that will have a meaningful impact on the region's water environment right now, as well as set up the region for success in the future.
