Stockholm Seminar to Feature Six Industry Thought Leaders

The seminar, titled "The Future of Global Water Technologies," will focus on how creating successful, sustainable solutions depends on anticipating the most efficient and effective ways to overcome social, financial or environmental hurdles. In addition, the seminar will explore the role of energy management, reuse, desalination and advanced technologies for infrastructure and treatment improvements.

Sponsors of the September 7th seminar are Black & Veatch’s global water business, ITT Corporation, Siemens Water Technologies and the Water Environment Federation (WEF).

James Clark, Vice President for Black & Veatch’s global water business, will moderate the seminar. Presenters include:

• Dr. Giulio Boccaletti, Expert Associate Principal with McKinsey & Company
• Dr. Ruediger Knauf, Vice President of Research & Development for Siemens Water Technologies
• Mr. Paul Street, Director of Sustainable Solutions for Black & Veatch’s global water business
• Mr. John Williamson, President of ITT Water & Wastewater

Dr. Boccaletti’s presentation will point out that the world is facing a significant water resource challenge, and business-as-usual practices will not close the "water gap." A cost-effective, sustainable solution is possible, Dr. Boccaletti will explain, but such solutions require economy-wide actions. He will also discuss six key building blocks of a strategy to transform the water sector.

In Dr. Knauf’s presentation, he will address the essential role of technology, equipment and service providers to produce and implement innovative process concepts and solutions that achieve total water management with highest resource efficiency and lowest environmental impact. Dr. Knauf will propose integrated solutions for water treatment, reclamation and re-use, based on six innovative platforms, in order to achieve this holistic approach.

Mr. Street’s presentation will emphasize that because the water industry is so energy intensive, it needs to fully utilize the energy production potential from biosolids. For example, the energy grid can benefit from "smart grid" energy measures in the water industry, which will lead to significant greenhouse gas reductions. Mr. Street will also point out how customers can benefit when utilities implement thermal conversion and emerging technologies, such as bio-energy conversion.

Mr. Williamson will discuss how the greatest water-related innovations of the next century will result from integrating the many technological resources already at our disposal into smarter, better, more efficient products for customers. He will challenge utility leaders to work together with suppliers, customers and partners to create a marketplace, a policy environment and a consumer consensus that paves the way for this kind of development. This will require the appropriate priority on efficiency, performance and improvement, Mr. Williamson will explain in his presentation.

Following the four presentations, the speakers will participate in a moderated panel discussion with audience interaction. The panel will also include:

• Prof. Dr.-Ing. Peter Wilderer, Technical University of Munich, Germany, and 2003 Stockholm Water Prize Laureate
• Mr. Jerry Johnson, General Manager and CEO of Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission, Laurel, MD, USA

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the World Water Week. Among the sponsors of Stockholm World Water Week are Black & Veatch, ITT, Siemens and WEF. ITT, Siemens and WEF are among the Founders of the Stockholm Water Prize; and ITT is a global sponsor of the Stockholm Junior Water Prize.

About Stockholm World Water Week

The World Water Week in Stockholm is the annual meeting place for the planet’s most urgent water-related issues. Organized by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI), it brings together 2500 experts, practitioners, decision makers and business innovators from around the globe to exchange ideas, foster new thinking and develop solutions.

The theme for the 2010 World Water Week in Stockholm, from 5-11 September, is "The Water Quality Challenge - Prevention, Wise Use and Abatement."

The Stockholm event is a unique opportunity to reach decision makers, opinion leaders, and constituencies in many fields, while demonstrating to them our commitment to sustainable development, the environment, and poverty reduction. It is pivotal to one of the most urgent international issues -- the rapidly growing water crisis.

For more information, please go to: www.worldwaterweek.org