DETAILS
Dates: January 16th-17th, 2025
Location: Sheraton Phoenix Downtown
Organizer: SWAN Americas Alliance
Lead Utility Partner: Phoenix Water Services
Sponsors: View Here
OVERVIEW
The 5th SWAN Americas Workshop took place in Phoenix, Arizona from January 16th-17th, 2025 focused on the theme, “Smart Oasis: Doing More with Less.” The first day featured a full-day interactive event followed by an evening drinks reception. The second day was highlighted by a half-day study tour at the City of Phoenix 91st Ave WWTP/Tres Rios Wetlands. View the full program below.
Attendees can earn 4 Professional Development Hours through the AZ Water Association.
Agenda
Land Acknowledgement
- Jolyana Begay-Kroupa, Chief Executive Officer (Phoenix Indian Center)
Workshop Welcome
Event MCs: Klint Fletcher, Digital Solutions Leader (Brown and Caldwell) and Jeanne Jensen, Director of Engineering (RMCI)
- Kate Gallego, Mayor (City of Phoenix)
- Holly Rosenthal, Assistant Director of Water Services (Phoenix Water Services)
Keynote: The Arizona Blueprint: Multi-Dimensional Innovation for Water Sustainability
- Dr. Dave White, Director, Global Institute of Sustainability and Innovation (Arizona State University)
Getting the Data Right to Do More with Less
Moderator: Meena Sankaran, Founder and CEO (KETOS, Inc)
- Mia Forsline, Management Analyst (Santa Margarita Water District, CA)
- Miller Truby, Customer Success Manager (Turing)
- Michael Rotunno, Vice President (Arcadis)
Sensor, Sensor in the Ground, Have any Events Been Found
Moderator: Amy Gamache, Sales Engineer, Owner (Western Environmental Equipment Co)
- Joe Johanesen, Public Works Utility Worker (City of Sandy Public Works, OR)
- Patrick Williamson, Solution Architect (Badger Meter)
- Rob King, Product Manager (Xylem)
Interactive Roundtable Session
Scaling Wastewater Monitoring Led by Nazario Prieto, Assistant Director (Phoenix Water Services, AZ)
On Cloud v. On-Prem Led by John Franklin, Utilities Systems Analyst III (City of Mesa, AZ)
Water Quality Monitoring Led by Jeff Bower, Civil Engineer (Town of Gilbert, AZ)
The Road to Autonomous and Cybersecure Water Operations Led by Delph Mak, Business Development, Water (Yokogawa)
Shared Streams: Collaborative Approaches to Water Scarcity Led by Edgar Westerhof, Climate Adaptation Solution Leader (Arcadis)
Innovation vs Intuition. When is AI the right tool for the job? Led by David Johnston, VP Engineering and Development (Mueller Water Products)
What’s our ROI? Led by Jeff Prevatt, Deputy Director (Pima County Regional Wastewater Reclamation Department, AZ) and Fair Yeager, Project Manager (Jacobs)
Roundtable Rapidfire Recap
The Best of Both Worlds: Optimizing Operations for Sustainability
Moderator: Alex Webb, Business Development Manager – North America (Optimatics)
- Lacy Carothers, Director of Engineering (California American Water)
- Robert Putnam, Global Manager Cyber Security Services (ABB)
- Tacoma Zach, CEO (MentorAPM)
SWAN Americas Update
- Maddy Zimmerman, SWAN Americas Manager
- Shayna Ramboz, SWAN COO
In Our Digitally Empowered Workforce Era
Moderator: Zonetta English, Strategic Initiatives & Project Delivery Director (Louisville MSD)
- Jennifer Morales, Public Works Asset Manager (City of Omaha)
- Paula Crowell, CIO (Los Angeles County Sanitation District)
- Brandon Foster, VP of Business Development (Streametric)
- Christine Ow, Digital Water Analyst (Bluefield Research)
Workshop Summary
- Naisargi Dave, Hydraulic Modeler (HDR), RiSWP Leadership Team
Study Tour Sponsored by Mueller
8:30 – 9:00 AM Meet in Sheraton Phoenix Downtown Lobby for Bus Departure
9:00 – 10:00 AM Travel to 91st Ave Wastewater Treatment Plant/Tres Rios Wetlands
10:00 – 12:00 PM Treatment Plant Study Tour
12:00 – 1:00 PM Travel Back to Sheraton Phoenix Downtown
