From email from the Colorado Water Congress (Doug Kemper):
Australia is the driest inhabited continent on Earth. Emerging from one of the most devastating droughts in recent memory and faced with long-term water crisis, Australia’s approach to water management has undergone radical change. Is the American West following close behind?
Join a delegation of eleven top Australian water experts as they meet with Colorado water professionals to review key water issues faced in Colorado and the West, and compare and contrast those issues with the Australian experience. If you think water management Down Under is so different from our approach in the arid U.S., consider the following:
Ø Australia recently completed a number of long-range (2050) visioning projects on the local, regional, and national levels.
Ø The Murray–Darling River Basin supports some three million people and 40 percent of the Australia’s agricultural production. But the Murray River no longer reaches the sea, and 90 percent of the basin’s wetlands have been drained.
Ø Australia has more than 500 large dams and more than a million farm dams and other small storage reservoirs. Most major rivers have a least one dam.
Australian Trade Commission USA Water Tour
Australian speakers at the CWC Convention are part of The Australian Trade Commission’s national water tour. This tour is a highlight of the G’Day USA program designed to strengthen the relationships between Australia and the United States in business, innovation, and culture. The USA Water Tour is a two-week program which highlights the depth of Australia’s experience in climate change and their unique approaches to water policy, management, distribution and efficiency. The total size of the delegation coming to our convention from Australia will be approximately 30 people and 5 corporations.
Advance registration will remain open until Friday, January 21.