Great Lakes Water Conservation Conference

The Great Lakes Water Conservation Conference brings together craft brewers, cheese makers, and policy makers in water conservation, to discuss best practices for water savings in Madison, WI, October 18-19, 2010.

Impending regulations from the Great Lakes Compact will affect all water-intensive industries, and will be discussed by leaders in water policy. Jim Nicholas, Director of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Michigan Water Science Center, will discuss water availability in the Great Lakes, link water availability to usage, and provide an example of Compact implementation in Michigan. Rich Bowman, Director of Government Relations for Michigan chapter of The Nature Conservancy, will talk about the current state of water certification, and demonstrate a new groundwater recharge calculator developed by The Nature Conservancy, The Institute for Water Research and Coca Cola North America.

The keynote speaker, Todd Ambs, is the River Network's fifth President and has worked in the environmental policy field for more than 30 years. His experience includes serving as Executive Director of two statewide river organizations, Policy Director for the Ohio Attorney General and Senior Policy Analyst for the Wisconsin Department of Justice. From 2003 until becoming President of River Network in May 2010, Ambs ran the Water Division for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Todd has served on a number of water-related boards and commissions and was the lead negotiator for the State of Wisconsin during the development of the Great Lakes Compact. Todd Ambs still serves on the Great Lakes Commission, Great Lakes Protection Fund and the Upper Mississippi River Basin Association. (WI).

The agenda also includes a panel on cleaning in place (CIP) innovations, with Graham Broadhurst, Vice President of Engineering at Briggs of Burton USA, Linda Rastani of Alfa Laval, and Pete Fernholz of Ecolab; Jaime Jurado, director of brewery operations for the Gambrinus Company, discussing waste-to-energy systems; Thomas Pape of the Alliance for Water Efficiency on conducting water audits; Stone Brewing Co.'s case history on wastewater treatment presented by Bill Sherwood; brewmaster John Haggerty of New Holland Brewing Co., Grand Rapids, MI, speaking on effluent reduction and Fred Scheer, Voith Meri, and a panel  with Karl Crave of  Crave Bros. Cheese Co., Franco Milani of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Brian Driscoll of the Wisconsin State Office of Energy Independence on waste-to-energy opportunities for brewers and cheesemakers.

Sponsors for the all-volunteer conference include Briggs of Burton Inc. USA, process engineering experts for the brewing industry since 1732; Ecolab, food safety and sanitation products for the dairy, food and beverage industries; and Alfa Laval, producers of centrifuges, fluid handling, cost-saving tank cleaning equipment and filtration systems. Partners include the Alliance for Water Efficiency, Brewing News and the River Network.

Online registration for the conference in Madison, WI, October 18-19, features a one day pass for Monday’s sessions at $175, including a craft beer and cheese tasting at the award-winning Old Fashioned Tavern, and the full conference including bus tours, is $295.00.