Water resiliency challenges are topic at Rice’s Baker Institute Dec. 4

MEDIA ADVISORY

David Ruth
david@rice.edu
713-348-6327

Jeff Falk
jfalk@rice.edu
713-348-6775

Water resiliency challenges are topic at Rice’s Baker Institute Dec. 4

HOUSTON — (Nov. 30, 2017) – Leading local, regional and international experts will gather at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy Dec. 4 for a forum to share lessons they have learned in responding to extreme water challenges. The conversation will span immediate emergency response, longer-term planning strategies, and innovations and partnerships to help achieve water resiliency in the 21st century, according to event organizers.

Credit: Shutterstock.com/Rice University

Hosted by the Baker Institute’s Center for Energy Studies and Accelerate H2O, the event is free and open to the public but registration is required.

Who: Stephen Costello, chief resilience officer and “flood czar” for the city of Houston, will give a flood resiliency update.

Michael Maher, senior program adviser for the Center for Energy Studies, and Dick Evans, co-chairman of the Accelerate H20 Advisory Committee and former chairman of Cullen Frost Bank, will give welcoming remarks. Richard Seline, executive director of Accelerate H20, will provide a summary of highlights from the private morning roundtable session.

For the complete agenda and list of speakers, including experts from the Netherlands, Israel, Hungary and China, go to www.bakerinstitute.org/events/1915.

What: A forum titled “21st-Century Water Resiliency Challenges: Trends and Opportunities.”

When: 1-6 p.m. Monday, Dec. 4.

Where: Rice University, Baker Hall, Kelly International Conference Facility, 6100 Main St.

The series of hurricanes and storms and subsequent flooding that affected the United States in 2017 highlight the need to invest prudently in water resiliency for the future, organizers said. This is a unique moment for Greater Houston and the Texas Gulf Coast to adopt innovative technologies, best practices and rebuilding strategies to ensure more resilient communities, businesses and civic sectors, they said. It can be a time to integrate successful approaches from around the world through academic, industry, government, foundation and entrepreneurial partnerships. There is also the potential to demonstrate leadership for Texas and other regions as Greater Houston works to develop robust and adaptive infrastructures and services capable of withstanding the impact of — and shortening the recovery from — future disruptive events, organizers said.

The public must RSVP for the event at www.bakerinstitute.org/events/1915. A live webcast will be available at the event page.

Members of the news media who want to attend should RSVP to Jeff Falk, associate director of national media relations at Rice, at jfalk@rice.edu or 713-348-6775.

For a map of Rice University’s campus with parking information, go to www.rice.edu/maps. Media are advised to park in the Central Campus Garage.

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Founded in 1993, Rice University’s Baker Institute ranks among the top five university-affiliated think tanks in the world. As a premier nonpartisan think tank, the institute conducts research on domestic and foreign policy issues with the goal of bridging the gap between the theory and practice of public policy. The institute’s strong track record of achievement reflects the work of its endowed fellows, Rice University faculty scholars and staff, coupled with its outreach to the Rice student body through fellow-taught classes — including a public policy course — and student leadership and internship programs. Learn more about the institute at www.bakerinstitute.org or on the institute’s blog, http://blogs.chron.com/bakerblog.