DETAILS
Dates: May 20-22, 2024
Location: Fairmont Waterfront, Vancouver, Canada
Theme: “Bridging Water Realities: Embracing Collaborative Innovation”
Lead Utility Partner: Metro Vancouver
Sponsors: View Here
May 20th
SWAN Members and Conference Attendees can now all access all recordings and presentations. SWAN Members may login to the website and Conference Attendees can use the special code that was emailed to you. If you can’t retrieve your password, please contact Sandy Moskovitz: sandy@swan-forum.com
May 21st
8:00-9:00 AM Registration, Coffee & Networking
9:00-9:10 AM Conference Introduction
- Nadia Abboud, President (ENAY Group) & Travis Kennedy, Group Publisher (Water Online Host, The Water Online Show podcast)
9:10-9:20 AM Land Acknowledgment
- Freda Leong, National Leader, Indigenous Communities & Manager, Indigenous Infrastructure (Associated Engineering)
9:20-9:40 AM Opening Keynote: “Complexity Requires Collaboration and Innovation”
- Jerry W. Dobrovolny, Commissioner & Chief Administrative Officer (Metro Vancouver) – View Bio
9:40-10:30 AM Global Collaboration to Deliver Impact at Scale
Moderator: George Hawkins, Founder and President (Moonshot Missions)
- Christian Wiklund, CEO (Roslagsvatten, Sweden) “Roslagsvatten 2.0: Elevated path toward Digital Transformation”
- Matthew Hughes, Smart Systems Strategy Manager (Anglian Water, UK) & Kate Willison, Innovation Director (Jacobs) “How a commitment to diversity in collaboration creates a sustainable future through smart systems”
- Susan Ancel, Director One Water Planning (EPCOR Water Services) “EPCOR Water Services Journey and Path Forward”
10:30-11:00 AM Coffee and Networking Break
11:00-11:45 AM Empowering the Water Workforce: Balancing Technology and Humans
Moderator: Aditya Ramamurthy, VP and Director Management Consulting Services (Kennedy Jenks)
- Janelle Boelter, Director of Infrastructure Management (Southern Nevada Water Authority, US) “CMMS to EAM”
- Manoharan Chelladurai, Deputy Director – IT Application Services (WSSC Water, US) “Collaborative Waves: Unleashing Innovation and Building a Talent Pipeline Through Partnerships with Higher Education”
- Joshua Cantone, CEO (Optimatics, a SUEZ company) & Managing Director (SUEZ Digital Solutions North America) “Empowering El Paso: Integrating Technology and Human Touch for Sustainable Water Operations”
11:45-12:30 PM “Prove It” – From Lead Detection to Satellite Monitoring
Moderator: Luis Montestruque, Principal (HydroDigital)
- Roxcee Stacker, VP of Customer Success (BlueConduit) “Using Predictive Modeling, GIS, and Local Institutional Knowledge to Guide Lead Pipe Identification in Cary, North Carolina”
- Martin Shaw, Business Development & Relationship Manager (MGISS) “Monitoring Network Risk from Space”
- Patrick Keaney, CEO (Subeca Inc) “Simple Tools”
12:30-1:30 PM Lunch Sponsored by Xylem
1:30-2:15 PM Cybersecurity Role Reversal
Moderator: Amanda Doucette, Manager of Enterprise & Business Applications (Halifax Water, Canada)
- Cybercriminal: Filipe Tomás Paiva da Costa, IT Coordinator (Águas e Energia do Porto, Portugal) “Recovering a water utility from a major cyber-attack: the Águas e Energia do Porto experience”
- Utility CISO: Bob Reilly, Vice President (EMA) “Implementing a Cybersecurity Program – Establishing a Winning Formula”
2:15-3:30 PM Interactive Roundtable Session
Scaling the SWAN Smart Layers: Connecting Assets and Data Sources to Deliver Change Led by Phil Tomlinson, Commercial Director (Metasphere)
How Open Water Can Revolutionise the Water Industry Led by Luke Butler, Director of Innovation (Qatium)
Engineering, Operations & Maintenance: Balancing Business Needs with Digital Technologies Led by Nav Otal, Water Commissioner (Sammamish Plateau Water)
Water Equity in the Digital Age: Ensuring Universal Access to Clean Water Led by Shawn Ingram, Client Solutions Manager (Xylem)
Don’t Forget the Human – Being Smarter About People for Smart Water Use Cases Led by Tania Flasck, Director, Market Development – Utilities (Sand Technologies)
From Information to Insight: How to Generate and Share Knowledge to Engage Stakeholders and Solve Utilities’ Wicked Problems Led by Markus Sunela, Chief Technology Officer (Fluidit)
Smart Water Networks as a Catalyst for Economic Development Led by Bobbi Harris, Founder and CEO (Smart Water Smart City)
Beyond Carbon – Smart Water Tech in Climate Tech Ecosystem Led by Fredrick Royan, Global Practice Area Leader, Sustainability and Circular Economy (Frost & Sullivan)
Ensuring Critical Infrastructure Security: Safeguarding Against Potential Disruptions and Unauthorised Access Led by Robert Putman, Global Manager Cyber Security Services (ABB)
Enabling AI for OT Processes: Tangible Applications, Meaningful Outcomes, and Potential Challenges Led by Mike DeNoma, Sustainable Water and Renewable Energy Industry Leader (Rockwell Automation)
Is the Utility Purchasing Model Ripe for Disruption? Led by Bruce Bharat, VP & Country Manager – North America (Kamstrup)
Ripples of Change: Catalysing Digital Momentum in Your Water Utility Led by Derek Schell, VP, Digital Solutions Director & Alan Tucker, Digital Growth Lead – US West Water (AECOM)
Smart Water Requires Smart Capital: To Finance or Not to Finance? Led by Jeremy Lenz, Senior Consultant and Advisor (Thales Water Advisors)
What does anomaly mean to you? Using data driven insights for anomaly detection in water networks Led by Asha Budhlall, Product Manager (Mueller Water Products)
Exploring Generative Design: What it is, What it Isn’t, and How it Enables Utilities Led by Sahil Chaini, UK&I Regional Market Director (Transcend Software)
3:30-3:50 PM Roundtable Rapidfire Recap
3:50-4:20 PM Coffee and Networking Break
4:20-5:10 PM Adapting to the AI Era
Moderator: Phil Tomlinson, Digital Solutions Leader (Grundfos Water Utility)
- Zonetta English, Strategic Initiatives & Project Delivery Director (Louisville MSD, US) & Prabhu Chandraseker, Intelligent Water National Practice Leader (Arcadis) “Preparing the workforce for the age of digital and AI – Current state and gaps”
- Ami Preis, COO (Teamsolve) “Revolutionising Operational Knowledge Management in Singapore through AI Empowerment”
- Javier Cantu, Sr Product Manager, AI, ML (Autodesk) “Adopting and Adapting to New Ways of Working in the Era of AI”
5:10-5:20 PM Summary and Conclusion
- Nadia Abboud, President (ENAY Group) & Travis Kennedy, Group Publisher (Water Online & B2BrandWater)
5:30-7:30 PM Drinks Reception at Rogue Gastown Sponsored by Sand Technologies
May 22nd
Technical Tracks
Water
(Sponsored by Arcadis)
9:00-9:10 AM Welcome Remarks
- Esteban Azagra, Senior Vice President (Arcadis)
9:10-10:00 AM When Customers Become Advocates
Moderator: Moalie Jose, Board of Directors (Maryland Environmental Service, US) & Senior Associate (Hazen and Sawyer)
- Nathan Adams, Director of Water Resiliency – Customer Relations (Santa Margarita Water Distrct, US) “Leveraging Customer-Installed Water Monitoring Technologies to Reduce Water Waste and Conserve Water”
- Kelvin Romain, CEO (Water & Sewerage Authority of Trinidad & Tobago) “Flowing Into the Future: Investing in AMI Technology to Support a Growing Community”
- Nell Libera, Data Specialist (DataStream)
10:00-10:45 AM Leak Busters: Innovating Water Conservation
Moderator: Victoria Edwards, CEO & Founder (FIDO Tech)
- Idel Montalvo, PhD, Founder & CEO (Ingeniousware GmbH) “Streaming Success: A Deep Dive into the Digitalisation of Water Network Monitoring in Celaya, Mexico”
- Nabil Sahri, VP, Business Development (Sagemcom) “Leveraging a smart collaborative approach to innovative pressure management using digital meters”
- Robbert Lodewijks, Co-Founder & CEO (HULO.ai) “Collaborative Innovation in Water Management: Advancing Real-Time Leak Localisation“
10:45-11:15 AM Coffee and Networking Break
11:15-12:00 PM Maximising Your Asset Health
Moderator: Cecilia Correia, Senior Water Solutions Manager (Bentley Systems)
- Spencer Johnston, Manager Water Construction & Design (ENWIN Utilities Ltd, Canada) “Acoustic screening of service lines to find lead pipe”
- Kelvin J. Hurdle, North America Industry Manager for Eco Industrial (Rockwell Automation) “Optimising Water Management: A Case Study of Model Predictive Control Implementation at Thomson Reservoir”
- Freddie Guerra, Digital Water Solutions Leader – North America (GHD) “Re-Thinking Asset Management and the Circular Economy from a Digital Lense”
Wastewater
(Sponsored by Kando)
9:00-9:10 AM Welcome Remarks
- Ori Reshef, Chief Solution Officer (Kando)
9:10-10:00 AM Embracing Wastewater Operators as Trusted Partners
Moderator: Michelle Revesz, Integrated Sewer and Drainage Planning Manager (City of Vancouver, Canada)
- Simon Cyhanko, Head of Wastewater Networks (Northumbrian Water, UK) “Optimising Sewerage Investment Decision Making
- Brian Bradley, Hydraulic Engineer (City of Grand Rapids, US) & Jay Boyd, Director of Market Development (ADS Environmental Services) “A Utility and OEM DaaS Partnership”
- Ori Reshef, Chief Solution Officer (Kando) “Decreasing Pollution by Identifying the Source at Hagihon Corporation”
10:00-10:45 AM Flow Guardians: Innovating Early Sewer Network Detection
Moderator: Mitch Dabling, Water Business Group Technology Director (HDR)
- Titti Wästlund, Customer Success Manager (Smartvatten) “Embracing Challenges: Innovative Strategies to Manage Saline Inflow and Infiltration (I&I) in Tromsø’s Wastewater System”
- Ranin Nseir, Project Manager, Wastewater Demand Analysis and Programs & Brian McPhail, Program Manager, Data Management and Business Intelligence (Regional Municipality of York, Canada) “An Intelligent I&I Machine Learning Model for Proactive Management of Sanitary Sewer Systems’ in York Region”
- Scott Ludford, Waste OCC Business Lead, Network Control (Severn Trent Water, UK) “How Severn Trent Water leveraged StormHarvester’s AI for sewer network management”
10:45-11:15 AM Coffee and Networking Break
11:15-12:00 PM Transforming Treatment Operations – From Risk to Value
Moderator: Isaac Crabtree, Assistant Director of Operations & Maintenance (Johnson County Wastewater District, US)
- Caique Amorim, Sanitary and Environmental Engineer (BRK Ambiental, Brazil) & Sahil Chaini, Director of Customer Marketing (Transcend Software) “How BRK Ambiental adopted generative design to transform project evaluation”
- Jonathan Hasson, Vice President, Smart Water Solutions (Aquasight) “Transforming WWTP Operations Using 21st Century Intelligent Analytics: The Haverhill, MA Success Story”
- Amy Jones, Consultant (Arup) “An alternative approach to Water Treatment optimisation”
12:00-1:00 PM Lunch
1:00-1:15 PM SWAN Update
- Dr. Amir Cahn, CEO & Shirley Ben-Dak, Senior Advisor (SWAN Forum)
1:15-2:00 PM SWAN “Speed Dating” based on Hot Topic Interest Areas
2:10-2:30 PM Closing Keynote: “Behavioural Economics of Water Nudging Efficient Usage”
- Turney McKee, Director – Research (The Decision Lab) – View Bio
2:30-3:20 PM Expecting the Unexpected – Future-Proofing the Water Sector
Moderator: Dr. Newsha Ajami, Chief Development Officer for Research, Earth and Environmental Sciences Area (Lawrence Berkeley National Lab)
- Matthew Brown, Information Systems Officer (Moulton Niguel Water District, US)
- Heather Taylor, Partner Climate Change and Sustainability Service, National Lead Government Sector (Ernst & Young)
- Michael Hoette, Co-Founder (PYDRO)
3:20-3:30 PM Summary and Conclusion
- SWAN RiSWP Young Professionals
May 23rd – Metro Vancouver Study Tours
Annacis Island Wastewater Treatment Plant
9:15-10:00 AM Travel from Fairmont Waterfront to Annacis Island Wastewater Treatment Plant
10:00-10:15 AM Arrive at AIWT for Coffee + Welcome
- Day Hosts: Dave Hoffman, Senior Operations Supervisor & Glen Neville, Operations Supervisor
10:15-11:30 AM Facility Field Site Tour: Industrial Control System (ICS) Control Room and Lab, Process Lab, Chemistry Lab
11:30-1:00 PM Travel back to Fairmont Waterfront
Seymour Capilano Drinking Water Filtration Plant
9:15-10:00 AM Travel from Fairmont Waterfront to Seymour Capilano Filtration Plant
10:00-10:15 AM Arrive at SCFP for Coffee + Welcome
- Day Hosts: Tahir Maloku, Plant Superintendent & Senja Kylmala, Operations Supervisor
10:15-11:30 AM Treatment Processes Site Tour: Filtration, Filter Backwashing, Control Room, UV Gallery, Backwash Water Treatment
11:30-1:00 PM Travel back to Fairmont Waterfront
Thank You to Our Sponsors!
