Wine Country Water Summit
Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Suzanne Webb (707.577.7700 x108, swebb@vwm-online.com)
Looks at the Future of North Bay Water Resources
Santa Rosa, California (July 30, 2009) -- A team of water officials, community leaders and business executives strategized the complex and controversial future of North Bay water resources at the 2009 Wine Country Water Summit. The event was held July 16 at the Event Center of Sonoma Mountain Village in Rohnert Park, Calif.
Publisher Robert Merletti of Vineyard & Winery Management magazine and his associates saw the need for a conference after learning the Sonoma County Water Agency (SCWA) officially declared a countywide drought in early 2009. "The water shortage pressures everyone living and working in the North Bay," said Merletti.
"Vineyard & Winery Management demonstrated leadership in organizing a regional conference about water issues," said Grant Davis, assistant general manager of the SCWA.
Tension filled the air at times, but by end of day, nearly everyone agreed the summit provided a necessary forum. "No successful solution will be found unless all interested parties participate in the discussion," said Richard A. Dowd, chairman of the Santa Rosa Board of Public Utility.
During his keynote address, J. Dietrich Stroeh of CSW/Struber-Stroeh Engineering said it was the first water conference where he saw agencies and vintners working toward a common cause.
Delivered via a framework of half-hour presentations and panel discussions, the summit addressed water monitoring, recycling and reuse, endangered species, collection and storage, conservation and bureaucratic communications.
Speakers offered an array of success stories and solutions.
Sean White, general manager of the Mendocino County-Russian River Flood Control and Water Conservation Improvement District, discussed the benefits of collection ponds for agricultural use as well as water level gauges on the Russian River for protecting wildlife. He helped acquire $5.7M from the Federal Agricultural Water Enhancement Program for constructing storage ponds in Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino Counties. He also explained how better management of overhead sprinklers can reduce water applied to vineyard frost protection.
Dan Carlson, deputy of the City of Santa Rosa Utilities Department, covered the success of recycling programs like the one used by his municipality. Santa Rosa currently recycles all of its wastewater into farms, vineyards, parks, landscaping and golf courses.
A proposed $385 million plan by the Sonoma County Water Agency to construct a network of reservoirs and pipeline prompted the most debate. Critics say using recycled water for agriculture is unsafe because harmful trace chemicals will work their way into groundwater while proponents, including Carlson and Davis, claim recycled water is nearly potable in quality.
Meteorologist Mike Pechner of KCBS All News 740AM delivered some promising statistics: Lake Mendocino is holding steady at 64% of total capacity while Marin County residents are using less water this year than they did in 2008. "This conference comes at a difficult time for small vineyard owners," he added. "Their concerns about the recession can only be exacerbated by their worries over water."
Other highlights included a discussion of "Endangered Species Issues" by Dr. David Smith of Merritt Smith Consulting, and "What to Expect in the Next 10 Years in Santa Rosa" by Mayor Susan Gorin.
Also presenting were Bradley Baker, president and CEO, Codding Investments; Honore Comfort, executive director, Sonoma County Vintners; Nick Frey, president, Sonoma County Winegrape Commission; Paul C. Gullixson, editorial director, The Press Democrat; Keith Horn, director of North Coast vineyard operations, Constellation Wines US, including Clos du Bois Winery; Paul Kelley, District 4 supervisor, Sonoma County; Robert Merletti, president and publisher, Vineyard & Winery Management magazine; Pete Opatz, vice president of Silverado Premier Properties; Tim Parker, consultant, Groundwater and Well Monitoring; and Chris Scheuring, Natural Resources and Environmental Division, California Farm Bureau Federation.
A second Wine Country Water Summit is already being planned.
About the producer
Vineyard & Winery Services Inc. publishes Vineyard & Winery Management magazine (www.vwm-online.com), the Wine Industry Index and Wineries of the Index on compact disc. Based in Santa Rosa, California, the multimedia corporation produces seminars, conferences and trade shows (Wineries Unlimited, Wine Club Summit, Wine Country Water Summit, Tasting Room Profitability, Managing the Winery Laboratory) as well as three wine competitions (Grand Harvest Awards, International Eastern Wine Competition, and West Coast Wine Competition).
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Suzanne Webb (707.577.7700 x108, swebb@vwm-online.com)
The diverse group of highly qualified experts will address the issues of water quality, supply and demand, conservation, recycling and reuse, flooding and endangered species via a fast-moving framework of panel discussions and 30-minute presentations.
"Our goal is to present an open forum of discussion rather than one particular point of view," said Robert Merletti of Vineyard & Winery Management magazine, the producer of the event. "Speakers have been asked to identify and assess the issues, and then offer at least one solution to the problem."
The summit will focus on the North Bay counties of Sonoma, Napa, Mendocino and Lake as local winegrowers, farmers, real estate developers, environmentalists and residents face a third consecutive year of below average rainfall.
"This is a very timely event considering the specter of drought looming over the North Bay," said Pete Opatz, vice president of Silverado Premier Properties and a summit speaker. "It will provide a service to members of the wine industry as well as related businesses that rely on water for the success of their daily operations."
Other speakers include the following water experts from the local and state levels:
- Bradley Baker, president and CEO, Codding Investments
- Dan Carlson, Recycled Water for Agriculture, City of Santa Rosa
- Honore Comfort, executive director, Sonoma County Vintners
- Grant Davis, assistant general manager, Sonoma County Water Agency
- Richard A. Dowd, vice president, Pinnacle Homes
- Nick Frey, president, Sonoma County Winegrape Commission
- Susan Gorin, mayor, City of Santa Rosa
- Paul C. Gullixson, editorial director, The Press Democrat
- Keith Horn, director of North Coast vineyard operations, Constellation Wines US, including Clos du Bois Winery
- Paul Kelley, District 4 supervisor, Sonoma County
- Robert Merletti, president/publisher, Vineyard & Winery Management magazine
- Tim Parker, consultant, Groundwater and Well Monitoring
- Mike Pechner, meteorologist, KCBS All News 740AM & 106.9FM
- Chris Scheuring, Natural Resources and Environmental Division, California Farm Bureau Federation
- Dr. David W. Smith, Merritt Smith Consulting-Endangered Species Issues
- J. Dietrich Stroeh, former GM of the Marin Municipal Water District, and the inspiration for the book The Man Who Made It Rain
- Sean White, Mendocino-Russian River Flood Board
The Sonoma County Winegrape Commission, Sonoma County Farm Bureau, and Sonoma County Vintners endorse the 2009 Wine Country Water Summit.
Sonoma Mountain Village (www.sonomamountainvillage.com) is a 200-acre, $1 billion, sustainable mixed-use community in Rohnert Park that was once an Agilent Technologies campus.
About the producer
Vineyard & Winery Services Inc. publishes Vineyard & Winery Management magazine (www.vwm-online.com), the Wine Industry Index and Wineries of the Index on compact disc. Based in Santa Rosa, California, the multimedia corporation produces seminars, conferences and trade shows (Wineries Unlimited, Wine Club Summit, Wine Country Water Summit, Tasting Room Profitability, Managing the Winery Laboratory) as well as three wine competitions (Grand Harvest Awards, International Eastern Wine Competition, and West Coast Wine Competition).
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