WSI Webinars 2021

10:00 AM - 10:30 AM

Cooling Towers - The Final Frontier of Water Conservation

Mark Gentili - Los Angeles Department of Water and Power

Conservation and Incentive Programs

Watch Week One

10:35 AM - 11:05 AM

Communities and Conservation: Partnerships promoting water conservation through landscape design education.

Jake Powell & Candace Schaible - Utah State University

Marketing and Outreach

Watch Week One

11:10 AM - 11:40 AM

Data Driven Decisions: Maximizing Conservation Effectiveness with WaterSense/ENERGY STAR’s EPA Water Score for Multifamily Housing

Matthew Dickens - SCV Water

Special Topics

Watch Week One

10:00 AM - 10:30 AM

Introducing WaterSense Labeled Homes, Version 2

Jonah Schein - U.S. EPA Water Sense

Special Topics

Watch Week Two

10:35 AM - 11:05 AM

Achieving Buy-in for Conservation in a Booming University Town: City of Flagstaff, Arizona

Tamara Lawless - City of Flagstaff, AZ

Lisa Maddaus - Maddaus Water

Marketing and Outreach

Watch Week Two

11:10 AM - 11:40 AM

Managing Conservation Programs through the Pandemic

Toby Bickmore - Southern Nevada Water Authority

Conservation and Incentive Programs

Watch Week Two

10:00 AM - 10:30 AM

Utah Water Savers: Facilitating collaborative conservation programs with technology

Shelby Ericksen - State of Utah

Todd Schultz - Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District

Matt Olsen - Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District

Conservation and Incentive Programs

10:35 AM - 11:05 AM

Nursery Education and Marketing Program for Native Plants

Rhonda Himley - Moulton Niguel Water District

Krista Guerrero - Metropolitan Water District of Southern California

Lisa Menezes - CalWEP

Marketing and Outreach

11:10 AM - 11:40 AM

Telling the Story of a Hidden Resource

Cathy Smith - CityWorks People + Places

Tony Zampiello - Main San Gabriel Basin Watermaster

Lynda Noriega - California Domestic Water Company

Education

10:00 AM - 10:30 AM

Commercial and Institutional Water Efficiency Audits: The Hunt for Low-Hanging Fruit

Gary Woodard - Water Resources Consulting

Conservation and Incentive Programs

10:35 AM - 11:05 AM

Water Waste Technology - From AMI to FT

Debby Figoni - City of Beverly Hills

Education

11:10 AM - 11:40 AM

Did We Reach the Hard to Reach? Results from Metropolitan's Multi-Family Pilot Program

Elise Goldman - The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California

Conservation and Incentive Programs

Matthew Dickens is currently the Sustainability Manager at SCV Water. Matt has more than 20 years of experience in the fields of water and energy conservation is currently the Chair for the Research and Evaluation Committee for the California Water Efficiency Partnership and Vice-Chair for R&E Alliance for Water Efficiency. Dickens is an industry leader having presented on water and energy conservation topics globally including in Tokyo and Kyoto, Japan (2009), Paris, France (2013), Bath, U.K. (2017), as well as on numerous occasions at WaterSmart Innovations, for the EPA’s WaterSense and EnergyStar Programs, and with the Alliance for Water Efficiency. Matt has a BA in Political Science from the University of New Mexico and Master of Public Administration from the University of Southern California’s Sol Price School of Public Policy

Tamara has been working for the City of Flagstaff since 2013, working in Water Conservation and Sustainability. She currently oversees the Water Conservation Program staff, policies, rebate programs and public outreach events. Her passion for the environmental field was sparked in her hometown of Madison, Wisconsin where she earned a B.S. in Conservation Biology and Environmental Studies from the University of Wisconsin Madison. She also holds an M.S. in Environmental Education from the Expedition Education Institute and a Ph.D. in Sustainability from Arizona State University. In her free time she enjoys hiking, mountain biking, skiing, kayaking, and running very slowly.

Lisa Maddaus is a senior water resources engineer with experience preparing water resources planning studies for water suppliers across the country. Her passion is integrated water resources planning, and her specialty is in conservation, drought and climate change planning. Lisa has presented numerous papers on integrated water resource planning, water conservation, demand management and drought preparedness at AWWA National and International Water Association conferences and for the United Nations. Lisa is also the co-author of the American Water Works Association, Manual of Water Supply Practices, M52 – Water Conservation Programs - A Planning Manual and supporting authors to other AWWA Manuals including: M60 – Drought Preparedness and Response, M50 – Water Resource Planning and M36 – Water Audits and Loss Control Programs. She lead our team in preparing the International Water Association publication, Preparing Urban Water Use Efficiency Plans.

Lisa was formerly Vice Chair on the Board of Directors for the California Water Partnership and previously staff as a Technical Adviser for the California Urban Water Conservation Council. Lisa has been the AWWA California-Nevada Section instructor for the Water Use Efficiency Practitioner workshops for exam preparation. She has completed more than 150 conservation and drought planning studies and takes an especially pragmatic approach given her over four years’ experience managing the Regional Water Authority’s Water Efficiency Program in the Sacramento region in Northern California. At RWA, Lisa helped the 22 water provider members fulfill best management practices for water conservation and was responsible for the daily management of a $2 million budget. Lisa has a B.S. and M.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from UC Davis.

Shelby Ericksen is a Water Conservation Coordinator at the Utah Division of Water Resources. She works with and provides support to local water agencies throughout the state of Utah on Water Conservation Plans, administers statewide efficiency and rebate programs, advises on public information campaigns, and other conservation-related projects and programs. Her love for water and conservation bloomed during a college internship with Central Iron County Water Conservancy District which led to a career in water conservation. Shelby is a graduate of Southern Utah University’s Political Science program.

Todd Schultz began his career in the private sector, operating his own business. His desire to work for an organization that offered substantial value to the public led Todd to Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District. He was hired in 2011 and currently contributes as the Analytics & Outreach Manager. Todd has a passion for innovating new ideas and processes and creatively solving problems. Todd specializes in solving water problems and inefficiencies with technology. Todd has an undergraduate degree in business management and an MBA with an emphasis in management and strategy.

Matt Olsen is an Assistant General Manager at Jordan Valley Water Conservancy District. Throughout his career, he has enjoyed formulating strategies, collaborating with teams, and using technology to solve organizational challenges. He oversees the teams and initiatives associated with water conservation, information systems, data analytics, communications, and customer service. He earned a bachelor’s degree in information systems and an MBA in management and strategy.

Debby Figoni is an enthusiastic advocate for the environment, with a passion for the wise use of water. In her work as the Water Conservation Administrator for the City of Beverly Hills, Debby utilizes AMI to assist her customers in saving hundreds of millions of gallons of water a year. During the COVID pandemic, Debby continued working with her residents conducting water audits using FaceTime. Debby uses her AMI data to enroll her customers in monitoring their own water use. With her guidance and the City’s customer portal, customers learn how to identify leaks as well as over watering patterns. Debby has worked in the environmental field for both public and private agencies for the last three decades. She has a BA in Environmental Studies and a Master in Public Administration. Debby brings her experience to audiences in a fun, easily relatable way. Debby feels blessed to be able to make such a big impact on so many people’s lives, while also making a positive impact on the environment.

Communications Partner
CityWorks People + Places

For the past 25 years, Cathy’s work has focused on the inter-related issues of water, energy, land use, transportation, economic vitality, social equity and health. Her passion is to help clients tell the important stories they have and help communities develop a shared vision of their future. A focus of Cathy’s is collaboration, and she has found stories to be at the core of those collaborations. In 2018, she was recognized as one of only nine Certified Public Participation Practitioners in the country by the International Association of Public Participation USA and is the only person in the state of California with this certification. Previous to co-founding CityWorks, she was a community mediator and journalist.

GM
Main San Gabriel Basin Watermaster

As Executive Officer for the Main San Gabriel Basin Watermaster and Raymond Basin Management Board, Tony answers directly to the Board of Directors and oversees groundwater quality and supply management activities, as well as administration of the Basin’s groundwater adjudication. He directs staff functions associated with basin management as it directly relates to groundwater production, well construction, groundwater treatment and resource planning. Tony was appointed to the position of Executive Officer for the Main San Gabriel Basin Watermaster in 2012 and to Raymond Basin Management Board in 2002. Including his time with Watermaster, he has more than 30 years of water management and resource planning experience in the San Gabriel Valley with local municipalities and special districts. Tony holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Management and is certified by the State of California as a Water Treatment Operator and Water Distribution Operator. Tony is currently President of The Association of Ground Water Agencies (AGWA) and currently serves on the Greater Los Angeles IRWMP as Water Management Area Representative for Groundwater. He is also the Executive Secretary for the San Gabriel Valley Water Association and Central Basin Water Association as well as an Officer for the California Groundwater Coalition.

President
California Domestic Water Company

Lynda Noriega was appointed President of California Domestic Water Company, a wholesale mutual water company based in Whittier, California, in January 2018. She started her career in the water industry with Valley County Water District, a retail-based special district in Baldwin Park, California in 2001 serving in the capacities of Operations Assistant, Water Quality Specialist, Finance & Administrative Manager and Interim General Manager prior to her appointment as General Manager in February 2011. Lynda served as General Manager of Valley County Water District until her hire as the Vice President/General Manager with California Domestic Water Company in March 2016. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration with an emphasis in Accounting Theory from California State University, Fullerton in 2007. She serves as Chair of the Board of Directors for the Main San Gabriel Basin Watermaster, as a member of the Board of Directors for the San Gabriel Valley Water Association, and as a member of the Board of Directors San Gabriel Basin Water Quality Authority.

Mark Gentili has worked in the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s (LADWP) water conservation group for the past 20 years. He is currently the Manager of all of the water conservation programs at the LADWP. This includes programs for Commercial/Industrial/Institutional/Multifamily and Single family customers. His area of expertise is in the commercial sector in Recycling systems and Cooling Towers.

Mike has been in the irrigation industry since 1994 when he installed his first system. At the time, he was studying to earn his B.S. in horticulture and landscape design from Auburn University while he was the owner of a landscape maintenance company. After graduating from Auburn, he worked for an irrigation materials distributor as the irrigation department manager for two years. In 1999, Mike became a project manager for a respected irrigation consulting firm and remained there until starting his own consulting firm in 2012. Mike was a member of the IA Certification Board from 2006-2014 and was the chair in 2013. He was the technical advisor to the certification board from 2014-2019. In 2019, he joined the Irrigation Association staff as the Technical Program Director.

Doug Macdonald has over 36 years of professional experience in the landscape and irrigation industry. He is currently a principal and vice president of Aqua Engineering, and manages the firm’s Phoenix office and desert southwest clientele. Doug’s expertise includes irrigation design, on-site water storage facility design, and alternative water source development, with responsibilities including project management, master planning, conceptual design through construction documents, and construction observation services.

Doug has served as the National President, and President of both the Southwest Chapter and Northern California Chapters of the American Society of Irrigation Consultants (ASIC). In 2015, Doug was honored with Fellow Status by the Society. Doug currently serves on the National Board of Directors for the Irrigation Association and is the interim chairperson for the Irrigation Association’s Smart Water Application Technologies (SWAT) Committee.

Jeff Lee began his career in the green industry in 1984 installing sprinkler heads in northern Minnesota of all places. After 12 years of working out in the field designing, installing, and maintaining irrigation systems Jeff went to work at the Rainbird Technical Services Division assisting irrigation supply sales staff, contractors, and end users diagnose irrigation problems over the phone. Jeff also trained in the Golf Division hardware and software to assist those users as well. In 1998 Jeff moved to the City of Mesa Arizona Water Conservation Office helping internal and external water customers save water. In 2006 Jeff switched to the Town of Gilbert Arizona Water Conservation Office. Jeff assists residential customers, large landscape customers and the Town owned landscapes in properly managing their water. The landscape water budget program Jeff initiated saves an average of 243,000,000 gallons annually.

Jessica manages the water conservation program for the City of Bozeman, Montana. She earned her B.S. in land rehabilitation and soil science from Montana State University, followed by a graduate certificate in ‘connecting environmental science and decision making’ from the University of Arizona, where she worked at the Water Resources Research Center in community outreach & education. Shortly after beginning her role with the City of Bozeman, Jessica obtained her CLIA certification from the Irrigation Association in order to provide irrigation assessments to residents as part of the city’s effort to reduce outdoor water use. Irrigation assessments remain one of the program’s most sought-after water conservation services in the community. Jessica has been on the SWAT PWG board since 2018.

Dr. Jason Wen currently serves as Director of Water Resources in City of Lakewood, California. He is California registered Professional Engineer, and has both State of California Grade 5 Water Treatment and Water Distribution certificates. He has more than 30 years of experience in water resources, water treatment and environmental management. His previous working experiences include in California State Drinking Water Program and consulting services. He obtained his B.S. in Geochemistry from University of Science and Technology of China, M.S. in Geochemistry form Caltech, and Ph.D. in Chemistry form University of California, San Diego.

Herman William (Bill) Hoffman, Jr., PE
H.W. (Bill) Hoffman & Associates, LLC

Mr. Hoffman is a native Texan and currently lives in Austin, Texas. He holds a BS degree in chemical engineering and MS degree in environmental engineering, both from the University of Texas at Austin. He has over 50 years of experience in water efficiency, water reuse, and water resource planning.

His expertise includes commercial, institutional and industrial (CII) water efficiency, auditing, workshops, benchmarking and engineering. He also has extensive experience assisting the development and implementation of municipal and regional water conservation programs. This includes working in five countries.

He has published widely and has worked in the USA and five other countries. As past Assistant Director for Planning for the Texas Water Development Board, he helped develop Texas’ conservation and reuse programs and currently serves on the Texas Water Conservation Advisory Council to the Texas Legislature. He has served on numerous code, standards, and regulatory bodies including IAPMO. He is currently president of H.W. (Bill) Hoffman & Associates, LLC. He is the recipient of the 2017 Joseph Kneidinger Green Professional of the Year Award and the American Rainwater Catchment Association Hall of Fame.

His major areas of interest are:

• Auditing of commercial institutional, and industrial (CII) operation;
• Development of CII best management practice guides and publications
• Development of water conservation programs;
• Statistical analysis of water use;
• Helping establish water conservation as part of higher education; and
• Training of CII auditors.

Annikki Chamberlain is a Water Resource Analyst and Training Specialist with 12 years of experience in many facets of water management, including water supply and efficiency, watershed and climate science, wastewater treatment, and water policy. She became interested in studying water while she was a wildland firefighter and witnessed the impacts of catastrophic fire on water resources. Her awareness of diminishing water quality and quantity increased as she became involved in water efficiency opportunities in the built environment. She is enthusiastic about leveraging data and technology to drive water efficiency and resource management.

Annikki has served as a CII Solutions and Water Conservation Specialist, having great success assisting and training hundreds of service providers in equipment operation, troubleshooting, and diagnostic analysis using water use data, infographics, and standard operating procedures. She has conducted more than 50 water audits across residential and commercial properties and effectively trained a diverse range of audiences on a variety of technical water topics, including CII Water Audits, Environmental and Industrial Processes, Landscape and Irrigation Evaluation, and Cooling Tower Assessment. Most recently, she provided CII Water Audit Training for over 100 attendees in a PG&E webcast and 10 employees at an in-person training for El Paso Water in Texas.

Annikki is passionate about water education and training. She has served as the lead trainer for environmental and industrial processes for over 200 employees, including the development and execution of both curricula and presentations. She has worked with hundreds of residents and CII customers to increase water use efficiency, developing specific infographics and processes to facilitate understanding and engagement. Using curricula that she developed to be specific to the audience’s needs, Annikki successfully trained a non-technical sales staff on how to interpret high resolution water use data and diagnose equipment issues for cooling tower operation, irrigation systems, and building water use patterns. She is particularly proud of the educational work she has done with the younger generation. She has developed and implemented water education curriculum in more than 40 elementary and junior high schools that focused on plant water use and irrigation efficiency, life cycle assessment, the urban water cycle, and wastewater treatment.

In addition to her technical experience in CII water management, Annikki has served as a water quality field technician, a wastewater treatment plant operator, an environmental process lead, a water educator, and a water resource coordinator. She also has implemented water efficiency programs in industrial and municipal settings and served as one of two experts on the US Committee for development of the ISO 14046:2014 Environmental management — Water footprint — Principles, requirements and guidelines standard.

Annikki has a B.S. in Watershed Science from Colorado State University and an M.S. in Climate Science and Solutions from Northern Arizona University.

Susan Loper is a research analyst with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. She provides research and analysis support for a variety of water efficiency tasks. Recent work includes performing comprehensive water evaluations, developing Installation Energy and Water Plans for the Army Reserve, and developing alternative water mapping tools and alternative water projects. Susan led the team that created FEMP’s water evaluation tools: Performing a Comprehensive Walk-Through Water Survey and the online Water Balance Tool.

Jennifer Williamson is a research engineer with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. She provides research and analysis support for a variety of energy and water efficiency tasks. Her recent work includes engaging with Army leaders to provide guidance for field staff preparing energy and water resilience plans and performing comprehensive water evaluations for Army installations. Jennifer was a critical member of the team that created FEMP’s water evaluation tools: Performing a Comprehensive Walk-Through Water Survey and the online Water Balance Tool.

Elise Goldman joined the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California in 2018 as a member of the Water Efficiency Team. She has 20 years’ experience in resource management, including work on solid waste recycling, energy efficiency, water efficiency, and water recycling programs in both the public and private sectors. She currently leads several initiatives, including Metropolitan’s Disadvantaged Communities program.

Gary Woodard has more than 35 years of experience as both a consultant and a researcher at the University of Arizona. He specializes in integrating economic analysis with water resources issues, providing a critical bridge that is often missing from policy decisions. He applies his “toolkit” — econometric modeling, benefit-cost analysis, policy analysis, survey techniques, field instrumentation, and legal analysis — to projects that involve modeling municipal water demand, evaluating water portfolios, examining rates, performing water efficiency audits, teaching water harvesting workshops, and assessing water conservation programs.

Woodard’s water audit clients include cities, water companies, water wholesalers, and water regulators, for which he and his partners have audited complex CII customers such as major resorts and spas, large medical centers, crime labs, and industrial complexes. They have trained conservation professionals to audit CII customers, and have developed advanced water meter logger technology.

Title: Extension Specialist – Utah State University Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning

Jake graduated from Utah State University in 2008 with a Bachelors of Landscape Architecture and minor in Watershed Sciences. After working professionally Jake returned to pursue a Master’s of Science in Landscape Architecture from Penn State University. Jake’s subsequent professional career has focused on uniting communities to their surrounding landscapes through collaborative planning and design efforts. He has worked throughout the intermountain west to envision and implement projects that span the scales from watershed planning and restoration efforts, natural resource conservation plans, recreation infrastructure designs, and developing community economic growth opportunities.

Jake’ research and extension efforts focus on analyzing how the design of communities, infrastructure, and sites affect water quality, quantity, and conservation at both the site and watershed scale, gateway community design and planning challenges, and recreation amenity development and stewardship.

Details coming soon...

Amy Talbot received a Bachelor’s Degree in Urban Studies from the Department of Geography and the Environment from the University of Texas at Austin in 2005 and Masters in Geography from the University of California at Davis in 2019 focusing on supplier drought response. Ms. Talbot joined the Regional Water Authority (RWA), a coalition of more than 20 water purveyors and associated agencies in the greater Sacramento Region in November 2012. RWA’s mission is to represent regional water supply interests and to assist members in protecting and enhancing the reliability, availability, affordability, and quality of water resources. At RWA, Amy is the manager of the Regional Water Efficiency Program’s award winning public outreach campaign and school education program. Additionally she also oversees several grants that collectively provide $2.5 million to increase water use efficiency in the region.

Jonah Schein is the National Program Manager for Homes & Buildings at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) WaterSense® Program. He has overseen the technical development and implementation of the WaterSense labeled homes program since its inception. He has overseen numerous efforts to better understand and influence water use in the field. In addition to the WaterSense labeled homes program, these have included the EPA Water Score for multifamily properties as well as several standards, research reports, and papers focused on modelling, quantifying, and understanding water use. Mr. Schein holds Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees from Indiana University as well as a Master of Science in Environmental Science from the Johns Hopkins University.

Jonah Schein is the National Program Manager for Homes & Buildings at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) WaterSense® Program. He has overseen the technical development and implementation of the WaterSense labeled homes program since its inception. He has overseen numerous efforts to better understand and influence water use in the field. In addition to the WaterSense labeled homes program, these have included the EPA Water Score for multifamily properties as well as several standards, research reports, and papers focused on modelling, quantifying, and understanding water use. Mr. Schein holds Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degrees from Indiana University as well as a Master of Science in Environmental Science from the Johns Hopkins University.

Rhonda Himley is a water efficiency analyst with Moulton Niguel Water District in Orange County, CA. She has over 11 years of experience in the water industry, with her focus on conservation and customer service. She has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois and holds a Water Use Efficiency Practitioner certificate. She was involved in the implementation of water budget-based rates and is responsible for program management, data analysis, and water use reporting.

A Southern California native, Krista Guerrero has over 17 years of experience in the drinking water industry. She holds a B.S. in Natural Resources from Cornell University and a M.S. in Environmental Engineering from the University of Florida. She began her career as a hydrogeologist for the South Florida Water Management District working on water use and conservation issues. She has worked on a range of issues including source water protection, stormwater management, water efficiency, water quality, and water resource management. Most recently, she was the program manager for the Long Beach Water Department’s award-winning Lawn to Garden program and a water resources manager focusing on long-term water reliability. She specializes in outdoor conservation and is currently the program manager for Metropolitan Water District’s turf replacement program.

Lisa is a Senior Program Manager at CalWEP, where she works with stakeholders across the state to help implement outdoor water saving programs and trainings. Lisa holds a MS in Civil Engineering from UCLA, and dual undergraduate degrees in Applied Ecology and Environmental Engineering from UC Irvine. Lisa is also a WaterSense certified Qualified Water Efficient Landscaper, holds a certificate in permaculture design, and a 2018 graduate of the Water Education Foundation’s Water Leaders Class.

Toby Bickmore is a Conservation Services Administrator for the Southern Nevada Water Authority (SNWA). He has been with SNWA Conservation for more than 17 years. Toby has been involved in the development and on-going oversight of SNWA’s Single Family Residential Programs including the Water Smart Landscapes turf conversion program which has seen more than 61,000 residential projects completed and over 74 million square feet of grass converted. He is also responsible for the SNWA Coupon programs for smart irrigation controllers as well as the recent research and pilot program focused on leak detection devices.

Toby coordinates and participates in Conservation staff involvement in community outreach efforts associated with SNWA including teaching irrigation and landscaping classes through online webinars as well as at the Las Vegas Springs Preserves (when permitted) and presents to numerous businesses, associations and schools across the valley on water conservation. Toby has an MBA from UNLV with an emphasis in industrial relations as well as certifications as a landscape irrigation auditor, conservation practitioner and site water management planner.