NTMWD, along with Dallas Water Utilities and the Tarrant Regional Water District, recently co-hosted the 11th Annual North Texas Regional Water Conservation Symposium at the University of Texas at Arlington. This event brought together many of the biggest names in water:
- George Hawkins, CEO and General Manager of DC Water, shared his passion for the water industry and drive to create future water leaders. “We produce the most important service of all time – water. This is my product and I’m proud of it.”
- Local meteorologist Colleen Coyle from WFAA Channel 8 gave her perspective on our current weather conditions and discussed how the news station is working to educate the public about weather’s effect on our water supply. She also demonstrated how the station is using improved graphics and technology to improve data visualization and make difficult concepts more relatable.
- Eric Eckl, founder of Water Words That Work rounded out the morning by providing insight on communicating effectively. He emphasized the need for utilities to leave behind their industry jargon and use more common, easy-to-understand language in public communications.
The event also featured a TEDtalks-style series of speakers giving short, informational, and inspiring messages about local and global water issues.
- Motivational speaker, Della Faye, inspired us to always do well in all we do.
- Tom Gooch from Freese & Nichols gave a brief history of water supply in North Texas dating back to the 1800s.
- Brooke Goggans from Mosaic Strategy Partners discussed the importance of data and social media in our communications.
- Jason Gehrig from Tarrant Regional Water District shared his experience helping villages in Bolivia gain access to safe water.
- Professor Lori De La Cruz talked about the global impact of manufacturing on our natural resources.
- Rebekah Carlile shared the power of storytelling.
- Lee J. Colan closed us out with three steps to building a game plan for success.