Catawba Wateree Water Management Group 2015 Annual Report
WATER FOR ALL SUMMIT 2022Investing in Our Infrastructure
In-Person Event 
March 30, 2022
In the Catawba-Wateree region, we have aging infrastructure, infrastructure in need of upgrades, changing demands and new technologies. And many of these infrastructure needs are interrelated.
This Summit will bring together industry leaders across our Basin to talk about what infrastructure means when it comes to the Catawba-Wateree, trends in future infrastructure investments, and how we can work together to position ourselves for better investments. Additional topics of discussion include:
- The Infrastructure Bill’s Impact on North Carolina and South Carolina
- Climate’s Impact on Water Infrastructure
- Duke Energy’s Vision for the Future
- The Evolution of Better Decision Making
- Community Investment
We will focus on how we can plan ahead and work together – across jurisdictional lines, industries, and interests – to extend the resources of the Catawba-Wateree River.
Speakers
Keynote Speaker
Catherine Coleman Flowers
Environmental Justice Activist and Founder Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice
Catherine Coleman Flowers
Environmental Justice Activist and Founder Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice
Catherine Coleman Flowers is an internationally recognized environmental activist, MacArthur “genius” grant recipient, and author. She has dedicated her life’s work to advocating for environmental justice, primarily equal access to clean water and functional sanitation for communities across the United States.
Founder of the Center for Rural Enterprise and Environmental Justice (CREEJ), Flowers has spent her career promoting equal access to clean water, air, sanitation, and soil to reduce health and economic disparities in marginalized, rural communities. In addition, Flowers serves as Rural Development Manager for Bryan Stevenson’s Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), is a Board Member for the Center for Earth Ethics at Union Theological Seminary, and sits on the Board of Directors for the Climate Reality Project and the Natural Resources Defense Council. Flowers is also Co-Chair of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Commission on Accelerating Climate Action and Practitioner in Residence at Duke University.
In 2021, her leadership and fervor in fighting for solutions to these issues led her to one of her most notable appointments yet — Vice Chair of the Biden Administration’s inaugural White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council. Flowers was also named Levenick Resident Scholar in Sustainable Leadership at the University of Illinois for the spring 2021 and was awarded an honorary PhD in science from Wesleyan University.
As the author of Waste: One Woman’s Fight Against America’s Dirty Secret, Flowers shares her inspiring story of advocacy, from childhood to environmental justice champion. She discusses sanitation and its correlation with systemic class, racial, and geographic prejudice that affects people across the United States. She has been featured in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Bloomberg, The Guardian, and on PBS.
The Infrastructure Bill’s Impact on North Carolina and South Carolina
Shadi Eskaf
Director of Water Infrastructure North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality
View Bio
Shadi Eskaf
Director of Water Infrastructure North Carolina Department of Environmental QualityShadi is the Director of the Division of Water Infrastructure at the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality. The Division administers state and federal funding programs for drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure projects in North Carolina. The funding programs include the Drinking Water State Revolving Fund, the Clean Water State Revolving Fund, the Community Development Block Grant-Infrastructure program, State Reserve loans and grants, and the Viable Utilities Reserve. Shadi also serves as chair of the State Water Infrastructure Authority. Shadi holds a master’s degree in Environmental Engineering from UNC-Chapel Hill and a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.
Kim Colson
Former Director Division of Water Infrastructure, Department of Environmental Quality; Regulatory and Funding Strategy Lead HDR Engineering, Inc. of the Carolinas
Kim Colson
Former Director Division of Water Infrastructure, Department of Environmental Quality; Regulatory and Funding Strategy Lead HDR Engineering, Inc. of the CarolinasKim recently joined HDR as the Regulatory and Funding Strategy Lead working across the country on regulatory and funding issues. His professional experience also spans three decades of service with the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) including both regulatory and funding programs. When he retired from NCDEQ, Kim was Director of the Division of Water Infrastructure, Chair of the State Water Infrastructure Authority, and President of the Council of Infrastructure Financing Authorities. He is also recipient of North Carolina’s The Order of the Long Leaf Pine.
Bonnie Ammons
Executive Director South Carolina Rural Infrastructure AuthorityBonnie Ammons has been the Executive Director of the South Carolina Rural Infrastructure Authority since 2012. The RIA annually provides over $100 million in grant and loan financing for water and sewer infrastructure projects statewide.
Prior to joining the RIA, Bonnie worked at the South Carolina Department of Commerce where she served as the Assistant Director for Federal Grant and was responsible for the State’s Community Development Block Grant Program and the Appalachian Regional Commission Programs.
Bonnie has held various positions with federal, state and regional agencies addressing the challenges of community development, neighborhood revitalization, infrastructure, workforce development and economic development.
Duke Energy's Vision for the Future
The Catawba-Wateree is the first river in the United States that was comprehensively planned and developed for electricity production. The River is home to about 25% of Duke Energy’s total generating capacity in the Carolinas. In 2019, Duke Energy’s 13 hydropower stations, two nuclear stations, two coal-fired stations, and one combustion turbine station produced enough electricity to power over four million homes. With so many people relying on the River, understand Duke Energy’s Strategic Vision for the future of the Catawba-Wateree system.
Regis Repko
Senior Vice President of Generation and Transmission Strategy Duke Energy
Regis Repko
Senior Vice President of Generation and Transmission Strategy Duke Energy
Bio coming soon.
Climate’s Impact to Water Infrastructure
Climate change is expected to have a sustained and significant impact on the Earth’s natural resources, especially water resources. Climate scientists predict the ongoing rise of average global surface temperatures will lead to the intensification of the global hydrological cycle, which will cause changes in precipitation patterns and increase the rates of evaporation. These predicted changes in precipitation patterns would lead to more intense and frequent weather extremes. This means that flooding and drought events are likely to become more severe and more frequent in river basins like the Catawba-Wateree River Basin.
Kathie Dello, Ph.D.
Director/State Climatologist North Carolina State Climate Office
Bio coming soon.
Hope Mizzell
State Climatologist South Carolina Department of Natural Resources Carolinas
Hope Mizzell
State Climatologist South Carolina Department of Natural Resources Carolinas
Dr. Hope Mizzell has served as the South Carolina State Climatologist since 2003 and Supervisor for the South Carolina Flood Mitigation Program since 2014. The South Carolina Flood Mitigation Program is South Carolina’s coordinating agency for the National Flood Insurance Program. Hope ‘s responsibilities as State Climatologist include providing climatic information and meteorological interpretations, certifying climate records, overseeing the State’s Drought Response Program, providing emergency weather support; and conducting applied research to improve decision making activities. Dr. Mizzell has authored or co-authored studies on topics ranging from extreme rainfall, flooding, drought, ENSO, and climate trends and variability. She began her career in 1992 as a Climatologist for the Southeast Regional Climate Center before advancing to Assistant State Climatologist for the South Carolina State Climate Office in 1995. She is the Past President of the American Association of State Climatologists. She received her Ph.D. focused on Climatology from the Department of Geography at the University of South Carolina in 2008. Hope enjoys spending free time with her family, fishing, hiking, and water-skiing.
Evolution of Better Decision Making
Peter Colohan
Director, Internet of Water Center for Geospatial Solutions, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
Peter Colohan
Director, Internet of Water Center for Geospatial Solutions, Lincoln Institute of Land Policy
Peter Colohan is the director of the Internet of Water initiative at the Lincoln Institute’s Center for Geospatial Solutions. Following nearly a decade of federal service with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Peter came to the Lincoln Institute from Duke University, where he started the Internet of Water. During his federal service, Peter served as a social scientist in NOAA’s Office of Water Prediction and as senior advisor to NOAA Chief Scientist Dr. Richard Spinrad. He also served as a member of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy staff for four years under President Barack Obama, including two years as an assistant director in the Environment and Energy Division, and later served as a federal coordinating lead author for the Water Chapter of the Fourth National Climate Assessment, published in November 2018. Prior to his federal service, Peter served as the executive officer of the Group on Earth Observations (GEO) in Geneva, Switzerland, an intergovernmental body dedicated to the global exchange of environmental data and information. Peter is an expert in international affairs, network governance, and building agreements that cross agencies, jurisdictions, boundaries, and sectors. He holds degrees from American University and the College of William and Mary in Virginia.
Ken Rentiers
Deputy Director for Land, Water and Conservation SCDNR
Ken Rentiers is the SCDNR Deputy Director for Land, Water and Conservation and heads the Land, Water and Conservation Division of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources headquartered in Columbia, South Carolina. In this position Ken oversees, develops and implements policies and programs that study, manage and conserve the state’s land and water resources. He also serves as a member of the Heritage Trust Advisory Board and is Chairman of the S.C. Environmental Certification Board.
Prior to joining the DNR, Ken was the State Executive Director for the USDA’s Farm Service Agency and Confidential Assistant to President George W. Bush from 2001-2009. From 1990 to 2001, Ken served on staff of the United States Senate in several positions over the years, including Legislative Director, Director of Constituent Services, Staff Counsel for Senate Veterans Affairs and Senate Armed Services Committee, and Counsel to the President Pro Tempore of the Senate. Ken is also a veteran of the United States Navy, serving on active duty from 1981-1987. He retired from Federal service in 2009.
Ken holds a Bachelors Degree in Political Science from the College of Charleston and earned his Juris Doctor Degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law.
COVID-19 Safety Guidelines
The CWWMG is closely monitoring CDC guidelines and taking all necessary precautions to ensure the Water for All Summit is a safe gathering. We ask that all unvaccinated attendees wear a mask for the duration of the event when unable to social distance. The following measures will be implemented at the venue to foster safety for all attendees:
- Hand sanitizing stations throughout the venue
- Maximum of 6 attendees per table
- All meals served by catering staff
- Disinfectant cleaning of the venue prior to attendee arrival
- Periodic cleaning of surfaces within the event space throughout the duration of the program
- Access to outdoor area for fresh air breaks
Which discussion topics are you most looking forward to? Tell us!
@CatawbaWateree
@CatawbaWateree
Catawba-Wateree Water Management Group
- Connect
- Resources
-
Social Media
