Registration open for Confluence Water Summit, Net Zero Cities

GREELEY — Registration remains open for concurrent BizWest conferences to be held in Greeley: the Confluence Colorado Water Summit and Net Zero Cities.

The events will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., April 3, at the Aims Community College Welcome Center, 4901 W. 20th St. in Greeley.

Confluence is the only water conference in the region to examine the economic issues surrounding the scarcity of water affecting the growing numbers of residents of the Boulder Valley and Northern Colorado. Confluence will take a deep dive into issues surrounding rising water prices and will explore the many facets of water availability, cost, conservation, development and supply.

Net Zero Cities will explore critical issues of climate change and sustainability, including a look at alternative transportation, utilities’ efforts to secure more renewable energy and other issues.

Will Toor, executive director of the Colorado Energy Office, will kick off the program with a keynote address, “Colorado’s Climate Policy Amid a Challenging National Landscape.”

A plenary luncheon session, “The Trump Effect,” will explore how the new administration is affecting water projects and supply, agricultural and energy policies and the climate-tech sector.

The session will be moderated by Sandra Hagen Solin, founder, Capitol Solutions. Panelists include Amanda Countryman, professor, Department of Agricultural Resource and Economics, Colorado State University; Chris Goemans, professor, Agriculture Economics Department, Colorado State University; Dan Haley, executive director, Coloradans for Responsible Energy Development; Dan Powers, executive director, CO-Labs.

Other sessions include:

• Alternatives to the Big T: Declining availability of shares in the Big Thompson Project mean massive changes in how municipalities are procuring water for development. Projects such as Cobb Lake, Terry Bison Ranch and Firestone’s acquisition of native water signal a shift in approach. What is the extent of this trend, and what does it mean for growth and development in these communities?

Moderator: Adam Jokerst, Rocky Mountain regional director, WestWater Research. 

Panelists: Amber Kauffman, district manager, Little Thompson Water District; Julie Pasillas, director of water and community resources, Town of Firestone; Matt Machado, partner, Lyons Gaddis; Grant Tupper, director of operations, Rocky Mountain Region, Select Water Resources; Brent Waller, president and partner, FrontRange H2O.

• Thirsty Neighbors: Communities in the Denver metropolitan area increasingly are looking north for water. From Thornton to Castle Rock, Aurora to Parker, Denver-area municipalities are acquiring land and water rights from Northern Colorado. What has been the extent of these acquisitions, and how will these purchases affect the ability of communities and industry to grow in Northern Colorado?

Moderator: Kristin Todd, president and CEO, NoCo Foundation. 

Panelists: Sean Cronin, executive director, St. Vrain & Left Hand Water Conservancy; Lucy Harrington, senior regulatory specialist and project manager, GEI; Patrick Wells, water strategy specialist, Northern Water; Cassidy White, research associate, WestWater Research.

• Colorado River: Spending Out of Trouble: Some cities and states that face cuts in Colorado River allocations are moving aggressively to invest in infrastructure to help address potential loss of water, including more storage, capturing seasonal runoff and wastewater recycling. What policy-level avenues being tried elsewhere might work along the Front Range, and how seriously are area municipalities and other water users exploring those options?

Moderator and speaker: Alex Hager, reporter, KUNC. 

Panelists: Sean Chambers, director, Greeley Sewer & Water; James Eklund, member, Sherman & Howard; Ian Shelledy, program officer, environment, Walton Family Foundation; Joe Taddeucci, director of public works, City of Boulder.

• The Bright Side: Not all is doom and gloom on the water front. Prices for some water sources have actually flattened, if not fallen, in recent years, along with the cost of storage. Some industrial users are working with environmentalists to keep water in the region’s rivers, and some developers are working to maintain highly productive agricultural land in production. Several communities have joined to form the Cobb Lake Regional Water Treatment Authority. What are some of the positives that are occurring, and how is the region poised from an economic-development perspective in comparison with other metro areas in the West?

Moderator: Chris Matkins, principal, Ally Utility Consulting. 

Panelists: Kate Ryan, executive director, senior staff attorney, Colorado Water Trust; Robert Sakata, ag water policy adviser, Colorado Department of Agriculture/Sakata Farms; Karen Schlatter, interim director, Colorado Water Center; Nicholas Wharton, town manager, Town of Severance.

* Ground Zero: Decarbonizing Construction: Construction activities represent a significant contributor to greenhouse-gas emissions, but new technologies and practices show promise for reducing the sector’s environmental impact. From innovations that decarbonize production of concrete or steel to use of mass timber, big changes are coming to how buildings are constructed.

Moderator: Brian Dunbar, executive director, CSU – Institute for the Built Environment.

Panelists: Sadie Cline, principal, ZGF Architects; Will Lepry, director, Colorado Mass Timber Coalition.

• Driving Green: Transitioning Toward Zero-Emissions Transportation: Private-sector companies and governments continue to transition toward vehicle electrification and alternative fuels. What are real-world examples, and what obstacles exist toward broader adoption?

Moderator: Marie Eisemann, advanced clean energy adviser, Colorado Energy Office. 

Panelists: Buford Barr, chief operating officer, New Day Hydrogen; Frank Bruno, CEO, Via Mobility; Matt Lerman, program manager, infrastructure, Colorado Energy Office; Kamala Vanderkolk, business development manager, National Car Charging.

• Utilities in Transition: Utilities play a crucial role in achieving carbon neutrality, with ambitious goals for increasing renewable energy, including wind and solar, and reducing the role of coal in their portfolios. What goals have the region’s utilities set, and what challenges and opportunities exist for them to reach those goals?

Moderator: Julie Murphy, director, Colorado Energy & Carbon Management Commission, Department Natural Resources. 

Panelists: Jason Frisbie, CEO, Platte River Power Authority; Robin Lunt, chief commercial officer, Guzman Energy; Lauren Quillian, director of energy & environmental policy, Xcel Energy.

Online registration is available here.

Check-in will begin at 7:30 a.m. Lunch will be served from 11:50 a.m. to 12:20 p.m., but breakfast is not included. 

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