Sludge Watch ==> Water Meeting sest for Fresno

[Maureen Reilly]

Water meeting set for Fresno
Conference to feature international experts, cutting-edge technology.
By Jeff St. John / The Fresno Bee
03/03/07 04:21:15

A world's worth of water technology expertise is coming to Fresno next 
month, and the central San Joaquin Valley is invited.
The International Water Technology Conference, set for April 2-4 at the Save 
Mart Center at California State University, Fresno, will feature companies 
on the cutting edge of water technology and experts on international 
developments in the field.

>From new water supply and conservation technologies to the use of 
anti-microbial ozone to prevent contamination of crops, the conference will 
offer plenty of value to the Valley, organizers say -- and the Valley has 
experts to offer in return.

"This will help bring attention to the important water technology in the 
region and hopefully to attract new companies," said Dave Zoldoske, director 
of Fresno State's International Center for Water Technology, which is 
holding the event.

So far, about 40 companies and 75 speakers are signed up for the three-day 
event, along with about 200 attendees, Zoldoske said, but "we'd like to see 
300 or 400 when we're done."

The first two days of the conference will be devoted to workshops and 
technical sessions on water supply and reuse, irrigation and anti-microbial 
ozone -- the last topic one of interest not just to farmers, but to 
companies in all aspects of delivering crops to market, he said.

"We believe there are a bunch of folks in the agriculture community, in food 
processing and involved in the shipping of food, who would be interested in 
attending this," Zoldoske said, noting that recent E. coli outbreaks linked 
to spinach and lettuce have the industry focused on ensuring a safer food 
supply.

Attendees from a host of countries, including the Philippines, Turkey, 
Pakistan and Nigeria, have signed up for the conference, he said.

Speakers include experts on water policy, including the head of the U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Wastewater Management, Mexico's 
former undersecretary of environmental management and the director of the 
China Environment Forum at the Woodrow Wilson Center.

>From the business side, keynote speakers include the general manager of 
General Electric's water and process technologies, Zoldoske said.

Also speaking will be Quentin Kelly, founder and chairman of WorldWater 
Power Corp., a New Jersey-based company that recently took up space in the 
newly opened Claude Laval Water and Energy Technology Incubator on the 
Fresno State campus.

The incubator, a partnership of Fresno State and the Clovis-based Central 
Valley Business Incubator, combines a state-of-the-art testing laboratory 
with business development services for its members, Zoldoske said.

WorldWater, which makes solar-powered pumps for irrigation systems, water 
utilities, food processing plants and refrigeration and cooling systems, is 
a company that can help the Valley deal with environmental problems, he 
said.

The reporter can be reached at jeffstjohn at fresnobee.com