March 03, 2008
Bowling
Green, Ky. - Dr. Stuart Foster, state climatologist and director of the Kentucky Climate Center at Western Kentucky University, was among the featured speakers last week at the Southeast Drought Summit in Nashville, Tenn.
The summit, hosted by the American Water Works Association and the Environmental Protection Agency, attracted 140 participants, most of whom represented water utilities in Kentucky and Tennessee.
Dr. Foster presented an overview of climate variability and evidence of climate change in Kentucky and Tennessee along with likely climate change scenarios for the region. He also highlighted challenges that water utilities face in planning for drought.
“Drought is a recurrent feature of our climate,” Dr. Foster said. “The meeting provided an opportunity to highlight the perceptions, realities and challenges associated with drought in Kentucky and Tennessee. While there may be uncertainty in future climate scenarios for our region, societal risks associated with drought are increasing.”
Topics by other speakers included updated drought forecasts, water demand management, water reuse and treatment strategies, and public education.
Presentations by representatives of Bowling Green Municipal Utilities and Nashville Metro Water Services assessed the impact of the 2007 drought on the operations of medium and large water utilities.
Presenters from the Kentucky Division of Water and the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation focused on state-level planning, response and regulation related to drought and water use.
The summit was held Feb. 28 at the Doubletree Hotel in downtown Nashville. Support was provided by CDM, Smith Seckman Reid, Inc., and WK Dickson, consulting and engineering firms providing services to the water utilities industry.
More WKU news is available at www.wku.edu. If you’d like to receive WKU news via e-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.
For information, contact Stuart Foster at (270) 745-5983.
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