Several GW faculty members played key roles in the Workshop on Global Water Crisis: Engineering the Solution that was conducted at the American Society of Civil Engineers World Headquarters in Reston, Virginia on November 16-17, 2000. The Workshop was co-sponsored by the Environmental and Water Resources Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the United Kingdom Institution of Civil Engineers, and the ASCE International Activities Committee.
EMSE Professorial Lecturer Michael Goode served as Chairman of the Program Committee for the event and moderated a plenary session on Roles in Integrated Water Resources Management. When he is not teaching at GW, Professor Goode spends hi time a Principal of Telford Consulting, a well-known international engineering consulting firm.
E&EM Lead Professor Jonathan Deason also assisted with the event, serving on the Steering Committee and co-chairing a session on Career Development and Continuing Education Issues along with Professor Jerry Rogers of the University of Houston.
The second annual EWRI/ICE International Workshop featured a variety of top speakers in the international water resources arena, including Gerry Galloway, Secretary if the U.S. Section of the International Joint Commission; Dr. Dan Sheer, President of Water Resources Management, Incorporated; Kyle Schilling, former Director of the Institute for Water Resources, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; Richard Ives, Chief, International Activities Division, U.S. Bureau of Reclamation; and Paul Jowitt of the Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland. Many other spoke at the event, including senior water resources professionals from organizations such as the World Bank, American Rivers, the international water resources development company Binnie and Partners, U.S. Geological Survey, PRC Corporation, CH2M Hill, Interstate Commission on the Potomac River Basin, George Mason University, and the U.S. Department of State. Curtis Barrett, Chief of International Technology at the National Weather Service, moderated the event.
The workshop was designed to raise the consciousness of the civil engineering community about a new paradigm for resolving water allocation and distribution crises in domestic and transnational river basins. It highlighted the non-technical, institutional and political aspects of water resource management at home and abroad with which civil engineers must contend.
A number of major case studies in international water resources management were discussed at the workshop, including the Yellow River, China; Thames River, U.K., Potomac River; and several major rivers in northern and eastern Africa. Speakers related real-life stories about dealing with water management problems around the world, and presented the results of such stories in using the latest GIS and related technologies. Also discussed were integrated approaches to solving water resource management problems and ways to deal with globalization issues.
The results of the conference are being complied by the sponsoring organizations and are expected to be available in the near future. Additional information about the program can be seen by clicking on the following link: Global Water Crisis Program. Additional information about the Environmental and Water Resources Institute can be found at the following web site: http://www.ewrinstitute.org
