Media Advisory – invitation to Water New Zealand Conference 18-20 September 2019
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Media Advisory – invitation to Water New Zealand Conference 18-20 September 2019
The Government’s major overhaul of the water sector will be a key focus of this year’s Water New Zealand Annual Conference & Expo being held at Claudelands in Hamilton from 18-20 September.
The opening guest speaker on Wednesday, 18 September is Minister for the Environment, Hon David Parker (9.10 am) and Local Government and Maori Development Minister Nanaia Mahuta is speaking later in the day (1.30 pm).
“We’re very pleased to be able to welcome key government Ministers to this year’s conference, especially given the ground-breaking reforms that the government is embarking on and the impact they will have across the entire country,” says CEO John Pfahlert.
International speakers include:
Dr Art Umble, from the USA, on the Circular Economy – an economic system aimed at eliminating waste and the continual use of resources. Circular systems employ recycling, reuse remanufacturing and refurbishment to create a closed system, minimising the use of resource input and the creation of waste.
Art is considered a champion on the global stage of wastewater treatment by helping to change the thinking of the industry from that of disposal to resource recovery and product factories. According to Art, “the future of municipal utilities requires a great degree of sustainability and resiliency,” and that is achievable through new technology and ways of thinking about treatment.
Tony Wong, Chief Executive of the Co-operative Research Centre for Water Sensitive Cities in Australia. CRC has research hubs in Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Singapore. He has led many award-winning projects based around the adaptation of nature-based solutions for urban water management.
Tony has advanced new understandings of delivering sustainable urban water solutions in built-up environments by blending creativity with technical and scientific rigour. He was elected to the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering in 2014 and, in 2018, he won the IWA World Water Award.
Henrik Bjørn from VIA University College, Horsens, Denmark is an expert on supplying non-chlorinated drinking water. In Denmark, consumers have made it clear that they do not want chlorinated drinking water. Henrick Bjorn discusses how Denmark supplies non-chlorinated groundwater-based water supply without health risk, and the costs and investment required to achieve that.
The conference and expo is a key event in the three waters (drinking, waste and stormwater) sector. More than 600 delegates have registered to attend and there are more than 170 exhibits on display.
For more information contact Communications Advisor Debra Harrington on 027 202 8857