Tagged: water

A new report out from Boston-based Synapse Energy Economics raises a question that doesn't seem to come up enough when talking about energy: what about water?

Louisville Water Company officials say they’d like to build an international water innovation center in Louisville. The idea was presented today as part of a pre-Idea Festival conference focusing on water.

Louisville Water Company CEO Greg Heitzman says the idea makes sense in a place like Louisville.

“Essentially what it will do is bring water to the people,” he said. “So what we’re going to be doing is taking what we do inside of our water company box and opening that up to the public.”

A consultant says Louisville should restore the Falls of the Ohio to its natural state, which would spur tourism. The presentation was part of today’s pre-Idea Festival conference about water.

The Falls of the Ohio are technically still there, but most of the falls have been covered by flooding from the McAlpine dam. Steven Greseth says the dam should be relocated, and the historic falls should be restored.

Greseth says restoring the falls would give Kentucky and Indiana residents a tie to their history to be proud of, and could also boost tourism in the area.

The actual Idea Festival starts on Wednesday. But on Tuesday, there’s a day of lectures and discussions all relating to water.

Speakers will run the gamut, from Greg Heitzman of Louisville Water to Gregory Luhan, architecture professor and associate dean of research at the University of Kentucky College of Design.

IdeaFestival 2012 will kick off with a day-long conference about water--how we use it, what happens when there's not enough of it and how groups and countries are addressing the global water crisis.