Protecting South Florida's Waterways: Speakers and Panel Discussion
Emilio Lopez
Thursday, March 29, 2018
@ WeWork Lincoln Rd.
Miami Beach, FL
Community members and professionals working in the areas of Government, Public Works, Engineering, and Environmental Protection gathered to learn about and discuss the latest technologies and efforts to prevent and reduce water pollution in South Florida. The audience participated in Q&A sessions and a panel discussion with leaders in the areas of water pollution, engineering, government and technology. SOP Technologies hosted the event at WeWork Lincoln Rd, and the company’s CEO, Emilio Lopez, was the MC and panel discussion moderator for the evening.
MAIN TAKEAWAYS FROM THE DISCUSSIONS
Education is the first step, and many people don’t understand water pollution and its impacts
It takes a community effort in order to drive behavior change at a large scale
Technologies to address water pollution can also help to reduce costs for cities
There are lots of environmental efforts taking place in the Miami area, and it’s important to spread the word and engage with people using different communication methods
There should be more coordination around efforts to address water pollution
GETTING INVOLVED
Want to drive long-term change? Here are some groups working to address water pollution in South Florida:
- VolunteerCleanup.org (website)
- Debris Free Oceans (website)
- Surfrider Foundation, Miami Chapter (website)
- Miami Waterkeeper (website)
- Fantastic Oceans (website)
- Biscayne Bay Marine Health Summit (facebook group)
- Clean Up Miami Beach (facebook group)
Community members, government leaders, non-profits and local businesses attended the event:
SPEAKERS
POLLUTION ISSUES IN THE BISCAYNE BAY
Dave Doebler, President of VolunteerCleanup.org
Dave Doebler showed several photos and described the sources of pollution that are in our waterways. Most pollution such as plastic bottles, plastic bags and other debris are caused by people on land (80%). Dave showed photos of pollution in storm drains and explained how it’s more expensive to clean the debris the further it goes into the drainage system/pipes.
BISCAYNE BAY MARINE HEALTH SUMMIT
Steve Sauls, FIU VP for Government Relations (retired) and Biscayne Bay Marine Health Summit Steering Committee Member
Kayaking through islands in the Biscayne Bay, Steve Sauls started seeing trash and saw the need for a summit leveraged his FIU connections to look at the science behind the trash and broaden the focus to Biscayne Bay. This led to the Biscayne Bay Marine Health Summit in 2017, and he explained the findings from the summit and next steps for continued engagement to address water pollution in the area.
Biscayne Bay Marine Health Summit report available for download here
TECHNOLOGIES TO ADDRESS WATER POLLUTION
Emilio Lopez, CEO of SOP Technologies
Emilio Lopez shared the various technologies SOP Technologies is providing to communities in order to fulfill the company’s mission, which is to Stop Ocean Pollution. The technologies include stormwater filters to prevent pollution on the street from going into the drainage system, sand cleaning services, water cleaning boats, water analysis using laboratories, a mobile app, consulting services, and custom engineering to help cities identify ideal solutions.
PANEL DISCUSSION + Q & A
Michael Gongora, Commissioner of the City of Miami Beach
Mark Samuelian, Commissioner of the City of Miami Beach
Caiti Pomerance, Co-Founder and President of Debris Free Oceans
Allain Barnett, Post-doctoral Associate at Florida International University
Patrick Shearer, PE. Project Manager, E Scienes, Inc