The International Desalination Assn. (IDA) announced that the Honorable Kevin L. Faulconer, mayor of San Diego, has joined the line-up of speakers from around the world for the upcoming IDA World Congress, which takes place Aug. 30 to Sept. 4 in San Diego.
Faulconer will welcome an anticipated 1,500 World Congress delegates to this iconic city during the Opening Ceremony. Faulconer has been active in efforts to protect water resources and the environment, and has worked to bring business, community and environmental interests together to support a sustainable future.
The mayor has supported the Carlsbad, Calif., desalination plant to augment the water supply to the San Diego region. He has also pushed for Pure Water, a water reuse program that will serve as a sustainable water source and provide more than 30% of the city’s water needs. In addition, he initiated San Diego’s blue tech center of excellence to incubate innovative companies in the city’s maritime economy, and put forward a climate action plan to reduce San Diego's greenhouse gas emissions by 50% within 20 years.
“With California in the midst of a historic drought, we must all do our part to conserve water and find innovative ways to increase our water supply,” Faulconer said. “San Diego continues to be a hub for research and developing new technologies that will help give future generations access to the water they need. We look forward to hosting some of the world’s top leaders in the fields of desalination and water reuse at the IDA World Congress.”
“We are delighted that Mayor Faulconer will participate in the IDA World Congress, widely recognized as the preeminent global event on desalination and water reuse. The theme of this Congress, ‘Renewable Water Resources to Meet Global Needs,’ is particularly relevant. Leading experts from around the world will join us in San Diego to explore this topic as the region copes with the impact of the record drought and also considers strategies to ensure an adequate, drought-proof water supply in the future,” said Patricia A. Burke, IDA Secretary General.
Other confirmed keynote speakers include Dr. Abdullah Al-Alshaikh, IDA president; Mark Weston, chairman of the San Diego County Water Authority board of directors; H. E. Abdullah bin Abdul Rahman Al Hussein, Minister of Water and Electricity, Saudi Arabia; and Dr. Benjamin Cook, research scientist at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies and lead author of a recent NASA study linking carbon emissions with increased risk of megadroughts in the USA. Mohammad Abunayyan, CEO of ACWA Power International, and Vahid Ownjazayeri, president, Global Civil & Infrastructure of AECOM, will also speak during the opening ceremony, as will technical program co-chairs Doug Eisberg and Dr. Richard L. Stover.
Source: International Desalination Assn.
