Black & Veatch on Water, Energy & Wireless

BLACK & VEATCH PRESENTS SUPER SESSION ON WATER, ENERGY AND WIRELESS

Las Vegas, Nev. (5 March 2012) – Black & Veatch senior executives today presented a vision of how cities can meet the opportunities and challenges of the future at a Super Session moderated by Miles O’Brien, Lead Science Reporter for PBS NewsHour. Specifically, they addressed the critical human infrastructure needs for Water, Wireless and Energy at the Annual Conference of the American Society of Public Administrators (ASPA) held in Las Vegas.

A recorded version of the webinar will beavailable 7 March via the following link: http://www.media-server.com/m/p/qubzyvcj

By 2035, the world’s demand for energy and water will increase by more than 50 percent and the number of wireless devices will increase by about 15 billion units by the year 2020. In addition, the development of social media is changing the relationships between governments and citizens. All of this creates big opportunities for innovative solutions.

Super Session presenters were Dean Oskvig, President and CEO, Black & Veatch global energy business; Martin Travers, President, Black & Veatch telecommunications division; and Cindy Wallis-Lage, President, Black & Veatch global water business. They offered advice and solutions on how to meet demands for energy, water and wireless services that are so critical to cities, county governments and academic institutions.

“Energy and water are totally dependent on each other,” said Oskvig, “Planning and managing these vital resources must be combined. In the U.S., the water needed to create electricity nearly equals the water needed for food production.

Wallis-Lage said, “We currently spend significant effort on categorizing water: drinking water, wastewater, stormwater, fresh water and impaired water. Nature’s water cycle makes no such distinction; water is water, and the sooner the water industry and the public recognize that, the better off we will be in delivering solutions to meet our growing water demand.”

Travers observed, “In just a few years, anything that can be connected will be connected. Not being a ‘connected community’ is like being left without a railway stop in the 1860s. The time to build these networks is here.”

The 2012 ASPA conference themed “Redefining Public Service Through Civic Engagement” brought together government and nonprofit professionals, scholars, students, and citizen groups to learn innovative solutions and obtain skills that they can implement in their communities, states and countries.

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