Global Water Futures Workshop Two: Technology Solutions

On March 8-9, 2005, the CSIS Global Strategy Institute in conjunction with Sandia National Laboratories hosted leading experts and leaders in the government, private sector, and nongovernmental organizations for a discussion on innovative technological approaches to managing the world's water resources and the role of the United States in developing and deploying these strategies. The workshop was the second of two workshops aimed at identifying areas in which the United States can innovate in the way it formulates its international water policy and in the way it deploys technologies.

DAY ONE: March 8, 2005

Ambassador C. Paul Robinson, Sandia National Laboratories
Ambassador Robinson kicked off the conference and introduced Senator Domenici by exploring the potential for both cooperation and conflict over water resources.

Senator Pete V. Domenici*
Senator Domenici's remarks began by stating four viewpoints on why the United States should engage on international water issues, including peace and national security, economic prosperity, human and ecological health, and democracy and human rights.

*Senator Domenici was unavoidably detained and was not able to attend the conference. His prepared remarks were read by Erik Webb, Congressional Fellow for the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

Panel One: Available and Future Technologies
Tom Hinkebein, Sandia National Laboratories
Susan Murcott, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Judith Barry, Alliance to Save Energy
Jim Phene, Netafim

The first panel helped define several "what" questions, including: What is the current state of water technologies? What are the public and private sectors doing to address critical water policy issues such as increasing supply, reducing demand, and managing competition over limited water resources? What is the relationship between water and energy? And, what over-the-horizon technologies can we expect to come online in the next decade?

Panel Two: Developing, Delivering and Making It Work
Alessandro Palmieri, World Bank
Joe Cotruvo, Joseph Cotruvo & Associates
Yasmina Zaidman, Acumen Fund
Erik Mintz, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
Susan Murcott, MIT

As experience has shown, relying purely on technology or engineering to address the problems of available, safe water supplies will rarely lead to a sustainable solution. Panel two discussed elements and strategies for making technological approaches to water supply and sanitation concerns in the developing world successful.

DAY TWO: March 9, 2005

Senator Jeff Bingaman
Senator Bingaman opened the morning session of the second day by identifying three obvious reasons why the United States must play a more active role in sustaining the future global water supply – (1) humanitarian concerns that have reached crisis proportions, (2) a geopolitical risk stemming from rising scarcities, and (3) the unique abilities of the United States to take the lead on technology-based solutions.

Robert Ayers, Senior Vice President, ITT Industries, and President, ITT Fluid Technology
Mr. Ayers emphasized that the answer to the world's water supply shortages cannot be solved by a "one-size fits all" technological solution. Instead, a multitude of technologies will need to be developed that can provide equally effective breakthroughs, workarounds, and advancements in order to meet the requirements for sustainable development, water scarcity and water quality.

Panel Three: Drivers of Technological Innovation
Hank Habicht, Global Environment and Technology Foundation
Henry Vaux, Jr., University of California
Greg Allgood, Procter & Gamble

The third panel covered the dynamics between the public and private sectors with regards to technological innovation and implementation.