Big Picture Sustainability: Water

Mar 12, 2010 at 10:30 am
Room #401

Presented by: David Hilgers, Triad Associates, Kurt Unger, Washington State Department of Ecology, Chris Webb

Session Descriptions:

Water is one of our most valuable resources and a basic human need but climate change is predicted to decrease our supply while future population growth will undoubtedly increase demand. The water quality of our creeks, rivers, lakes, and the Puget Sound have been severely degraded from stormwater runoff from the built environment. This impact has resulted in loss of habitat and has impacted many species including some endangered and threatened species. The use of Low-Impact Development (LID) stormwater management techniques and innovative conservation approached such as rainwater catchment and irrigation with greywater are increasingly common locally. This panel will discuss these techniques from an ecological, planning, design, policy, and legal perspective.

Speakers Bios:

David Hilgers, ASLA, LEED-AP

Mr. Hilgers is Pacific Northwest native and a graduate of Washington State University with a Bachelors of Science in Landscape Architecture. He is a registered Landscape Architect in Washington and Oregon and currently is the Director of Landscape Architecture for Triad Associates, a multi-discipline consulting firm in Kirkland. As a LEED-Accredited Professional, Mr. Hilgers has been focused on water efficiency in the landscape. He has utilized his expertise in this area to provide consulting on many water re-use, rainwater harvesting, and irrigation efficiency projects. He is presently working on a two separate rainwater harvesting projects, one in Bellevue and another in Clyde Hill.

Christopher J. Webb

Christopher J. Webb is a licensed civil engineer a LEED™ Accredited Professional whose passion and technical expertise is focused on providing civil engineering designs that demonstrate the highest degree of sustainability and are based on ecological principles. Chris is a frequent speaker on the technical aspects of sustainability as it is applied in civil engineering.

Chris’ sustainable development project experience includes working with many local and state governments, private and public entities, utilities, and non-profit groups. As the principal of Chris Webb and Associates, he works as part of diverse design teams across the spectrum of project scales from the single lot to large multi-unit developments and from master planning through permitting and construction documents.

Kurt Unger, Washington State Department of Ecology

Kurt Unger works for the Washington State Department of Ecology’s Water Resources Program on policy and rule development as well as code and statutory modifications focused on instream flows, water conservations and efficiency, low impact development, drought and climate change. Kurt is also an adjunct professor at the Evergreen State College where he teaches a graduate level class on global climate change science and policy. Prior to Ecology, he worked for the Desert Research Institute in Reno while earning a Master’s degree in Environmental Science and a Ph.D. in Hydrology from the University of Nevada. He is also a licensed attorney (J.D from University of Oregon). Prior to his graduate studies, he spent two years in Las Vegas working as an environmental consultant. When not working, Kurt enjoys playing in the natural resources his work aims to protect.