Denver Symposium on Nov. 2-3 outlines global water successes that may be utilized for Western water issues; registration open

Media contact: 
Tiana Kennedy
Associate Vice Chancellor, External Relations
CSU System
Tiana.Kennedy@colostate.edu
Cell: 970-420-3316 

Note: limited media passes are available for the Water in the West Symposium; contact Tiana.Kennedy@colostate.edu to reserve.

Denver, Colo. — The 5th Annual CSU Spur Water in the West Symposium, to be held Nov. 2-3 in downtown Denver, will invite people from all backgrounds who are interested in the Western water future together to hear about global solutions that could have implications for local water issues.

With speakers made up of policymakers, researchers, and experts from the business, nonprofit, and agriculture sectors, the Symposium will look globally for lessons and strategies with the potential to inform how Colorado and other western states respond to the region’s water challenges.

“This year, we are bringing speakers with wide-ranging expertise — from ag to business to investing — together from across the world to present solutions that might be useful here in the American West. We hope the CSU community and others from across the West will join us for a stellar speaker line-up, a solutions-oriented approach, and a chance to build new, and perhaps unexpected, connections,” said Jocelyn Hittle, the CSU System’s associate vice chancellor for CSU Spur and special projects.

The event’s theme, “Global Water: Successes and Solutions,” underlies a program that includes panel discussions and keynote speeches aimed at starting conversations about how communities and the entire region can respond and adapt to the pressures created by a growing population within a changing environment.

Among the speakers at the 2022 Symposium is Jay Famiglietti, a water researcher who leads the Global Institute for Water Security at the University of Saskatchewan. Panel discussions on cities, agriculture, and innovation opportunities will seek to inform western water discussions by drawing on the experiences of experts from government agencies, private industry, and municipalities as far away as Portugal and Cape Town, South Africa.

Two panel discussions will examine lessons and opportunities related to international water agreements.

  1. One will focus on the Columbia River Treaty, which the United States and Canada signed in 1961 and governs the construction and operation of dams on a river that begins in the mountains of British Columbia, flows south through eastern Washington, and then turns west, defining the border between Oregon and Washington on its way to the Pacific.
  2. The other will explore solutions involving the United States and Mexico, both of which rely on water from two rivers, the Colorado and Rio Grande, that have their headwaters in Colorado.

Attendees have the option of attending in-person sessions at the Seawell Ballroom or participating virtually. A combined reception at CSU Spur the evening of Wednesday, Nov. 2, will bring Symposium participants together with the ranchers, farmers, conservationists, land managers, scientists, and others attending Regenerate 2022, an annual conference focused on sharing knowledge and building a culture of resilience.

The event will take place just weeks before the Spur campus’s third building, Hydro, opens in January. In coming years, Hydro will house the Water in the West Symposium and a range of programs and initiatives focused on water research, conservation, and education.

Program details and registration information for the 2022 Water in the West Symposium are available at csuspur.org/witw/.

About CSU Spur

CSU Spur is a new, free educational year-round public life-long learning destination in Denver focused on engaging preK-12 students, families, and visitors around food, water, and health. CSU Spur showcases the work of the CSU System campuses: CSU, CSU Pueblo, and CSU Global, and offers degree programs that originate from the campus offerings. Spur is built upon the land-grant mission of access to education and the belief that students can be anything they want to be. To inspire learners of all ages to engage in important world issues, CSU Spur brings together scientists to collaborate, puts science on-display, and showcases career paths. The CSU Spur campus provides immersive learning experiences and cutting-edge research across three buildings: Vida, Terra, and Hydro. Learn more at CSUSpur.org.