BATON ROUGE, La. (May 16, 2018) – At first glance, the over-committed water resources of the Colorado River and the increasingly frequent floods of the Mississippi River seem to present different challenges for the corresponding regions. However, both challenges share a common underlying necessity: bringing together stakeholders and the best science for better decisions at the highest levels.
This discussion is the foundation for the many conversations held during the first day of the 10X Water Summit, the first gathering of Ten Across, a forum for exchanging ideas and solving problems common to cities that are on the US Interstate 10 corridor. This inaugural 10X summit is being held in Baton Rouge, La. and co-hosted by The Water Institute of the Gulf and Arizona State University in partnership with The Baton Rouge Area Foundation, the City of Baton Rouge, and the City of Phoenix.
Following the Interstate 10 corridor the 2,400 miles from Los Angeles to Jacksonville, the Ten Across initiative is developing a durable platform for exploring, understanding, and communicating the critical issues of our time. This uniquely diverse and rapidly growing cross section of the country presents many of the challenges of the 21st century in the highest relief including water, energy, human migration, urban development, and global commerce. Ten Across is designed to reveal this linear region as a compelling window on the future and as a living laboratory for the country as a whole.
“From intense rainfall in New Orleans to drought conditions in Phoenix, gathering such a diverse group of leaders, decision-makers, and policy experts in one place is the cornerstone of how innovative solu-tions are developed,” said Jeff Hebert, Vice President for Adaptation and Resilience at The Water Insti-tute of the Gulf.
In the Ten Across region, climate change and other human factors fuel drought in the West and inunda-tion in the East. The pairing of these extreme desert and coastal conditions provides a foundation for the summit discussions. While conditions in the Colorado and Mississippi watersheds differ, shared concerns include long-term resilience, multi-jurisdictional policy issues, data-rich forecasting and visualization, and the skillful navigation of environmental, economic, and societal adjustments to change.
“It’s our belief that the future is arriving early, in many senses, in the I-10 corridor. With closer observation in this area, one can see the critical issues of our time registering in both the built and natural environments,” said Wellington “Duke” Reiter, originator of the Ten Across project and Arizona State University senior advisor to the president. “We’ve developed Ten Across to assemble this evidence in a compelling and coherent format, so as to inspire the necessary responses. We’re beginning with water.”
About The Water Institute of the Gulf
The Water Institute is a not-for-profit, independent applied research and technical services institution with a mission to help coastal and deltaic communities thoughtfully prepare for an uncertain future. Through an integrated and inter-disciplinary approach, our work helps to create more resilient communities, thriv-ing economies, and a healthy environment. For more information, visit www.thewaterinstitute.org.
About ASU
Arizona State University has developed a new model for the American Research University, creating an institution that is committed to access, excellence and impact. ASU measures itself by those it includes, not by those it excludes. As the prototype for a New American University, ASU pursues research that contributes to the public good, and ASU assumes major responsibility for the economic, social, and cultural vitality of the communities that surround it.