Yahara Lakes 101 Science Cafe

Learn more about the science behind the issues that affect our lakes!

About the talk:

"Respect Every Drop: The Adaptive Challenge"

We compartmentalize water in our daily lives. There is water for drinking and washing, there is water for recreating and there is water we flush that goes away. But we all know, at least conceptually, that water does not actually go away. It goes through a cycle of use and reuse time after time again. Michael will talk about efforts to respect every drop of water and the adaptive challenge necessary to turn skeptics into advocates for a sustainable water future.

Note from Clean Lakes Alliance

The Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District treats 42 million gallons of water per day for customer communities around the Yahara watershed. As the chief engineer and director for MMSD for the past seven years, Michael has been instrumental in key initiatives to improve water quality including removing phosphorus from the waste stream. Through the Yahara Watershed Improvement Network (Yahara WINs), MMSD had helped spearhead an innovative community-wide effort to work together to reduce upstream sources of phosphorus pollution to our lakes. Don't miss this talk!

About our speakers

Michael is the Chief Engineer and Director for the Madison Metropolitan Sewerage District. He has dedicated his 28-year career in local government to building public trust through sustainability.

Michael has his BS in Civil Engineering from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee, his Masters in Public Administration from the University of Washington-Seattle, and completed Harvard University’s Senior Executives in State and Local Government program. He is a registered professional engineer.

Michael serves on the Board of Directors for the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure and teaches courses in sustainable infrastructure management and adaptive leadership at the University of Wisconsin and Edgewood College.

About the series

Yahara Lakes 101 is a series of educational events open to the public and a great chance for residents to learn more about the science behind the issues that affect our lakes. Each month we feature a different expert to make the science accessible and interesting to non-technical audiences.

Yahara Lakes 101 is produced in partnership with the UW-Madison Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, with hosting sponsor The Edgewater, presenting sponsor First Weber Group, supporting sponsor The Evjue Foundation, and media sponsor The Isthmus.

Yahara 101 is held indoors at The Edgewater. Come at 7:30 a.m. for a meet-and-greet and to enjoy your coffee, pastries, and fruit, with time to eat and chat on the lakeview patio, weather-permitting. The program begins at 8 a.m., and class is dismissed by 9 a.m.

If you already are a Friend of Clean Lakes (minimum $35 donation/year), then admission is free. Become a Friend today. If you are not a Friend yet, admission is $10 per event. Registration for each event is requested for all attendees. Special event parking will be available at The Edgewater.