Ask the Panel

1. How can smart technologies help utilities with resiliency and cost-saving efforts as aging infrastructure encounters extreme weather? 3/21/2018

   As climate change progresses, floods, droughts, and other extreme weather events will become the new normal for global communities — and threaten the availability of clean water on a day-to-day basis.

2. Our municipality would like to explore green infrastructure projects. What is the low-hanging fruit for these types of projects, as our town would like to properly measure effectiveness before investing into larger, long-term projects? 1/9/2018

   Green infrastructure and low impact development (LID) technology can be viewed as any natural or engineered system that achieves a natural water balance in an otherwise developed area.

3. How might changes at the U.S. EPA, including avoiding/removing certain language such as “climate change” in official documents, affect the progress of environmental initiatives? 1/9/2018

   A: Censoring language around climate change doesn’t change the fact of climate change.

4. How has the lull in the unconventional sector affected water treatment companies' view of the opportunity in treating flowback and produced water? Are they more cautious or optimistic? 1/9/2018

   The recent industry downturn has had a significant impact on treatment service providers. As oil prices plunged in late 2014 and into 2015 we found that many water-focused energy service companies were struggling.