San Diego Mayor Kevin L. Faulconer to speak at IDA World Congress

TOPSFIELD, MA, July 30, 2015 -- The International Desalination Association (IDA) recently announced that San Diego Mayor Kevin L. Faulconer has joined a prestigious lineup of presenters from around the world to speak at the organization's upcoming 14th biennial World Congress 2015, being held on Aug. 30-Sept. 4, at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, Calif.

Faulconer will welcome an anticipated 1,500 World Congress delegates to the iconic city during the Opening Ceremony. Likewise, he has been active in efforts to protect water resources and the environment and has worked to bring business, community and environmental interests together to support a sustainable future.

The Mayor has supported the Carlsbad desalination plant to augment the water supply to the San Diego region. He has also pushed for Pure Water, an innovative water reuse program that will serve as a sustainable water source and provide more than 30 percent of the city's water needs. In addition, he initiated San Diego's blue tech center of excellence to incubate innovative companies in the city's maritime economy and put forward a climate action plan to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent within 20 years.

"With California in the midst of a historic drought, we must all do our part to conserve water and find innovative ways to increase our water supply," said Faulconer. "San Diego continues to be a hub for research and developing new technologies that will help give future generations access to the water they need. We look forward to hosting some of the world's top leaders in the fields of desalination and water reuse at the IDA World Congress."

Other confirmed keynote speakers include Dr. Abdullah Al-Alshaikh, IDA President; Mark Weston, Chairman of the San Diego County Water Authority Board of Directors; H. E. Abdullah bin Abdul Rahman Al Hussein, Minister of Water and Electricity, Saudi Arabia; and Dr. Benjamin Cook, research scientist at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies and lead author of a recent NASA study linking carbon emissions with increased risk of megadroughts in the USA. Mohammad Abunayyan, CEO of ACWA Power International, and Vahid Ownjazayeri, President, Global Civil & Infrastructure of AECOM, will also speak during the Opening Ceremony, as will Technical Program Co-chairs Doug Eisberg and Dr. Richard L. Stover.

See also:

"Desalination mentoring program launched by the IDA"

"Falling oil prices won’t impact thermal desalination projects - IDA"

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