Building Hoover Dam
Presented by Raymond “Paul” Giroux, Dist.M.ASCE
Monday, May 18 | 5:30 – 6:30 p.m.
Hoover Dam is rightly regarded as one of the greatest civil engineering achievements in history. While Hoover Dam is mired in some controversy for safety and labor practices, built during the great depression, it must be regarded as not only a triumph of engineering, but also a triumph of the human spirit. Large concrete dam construction was in its infancy in the early twentieth century. Hoover Dam’s successful construction and enduring ability to harness the Colorado River are the result of the convergence of extraordinary men, machines, and methods. This presentation highlights how the right men, the right, machines, and the right methods all came together in the spring of 1931 to build a dam of unprecedented scope and challenges.
Paul Giroux received his BS in Construction Engineering from Iowa State University in 1979. For the past four decades, he has been with Kiewit Corporation, working on a wide variety of heavy civil engineering mega projects throughout the United States. Paul played a key role in notable projects such as the Fort McHenry Tunnel in Baltimore, several hydroelectric projects, several projects on the Big Dig in Boston including the new Zakim/Bunker Hill Bridge, the new San Francisco Oakland Bay Bridge East Span, and Folsom Spillway Project. Paul serves on the Iowa State University Civil Engineering Advisory Board, the Transportation Research Board, and several American Society of Civil Engineering (ASCE) committees.
Utility Leaders Panel
Tuesday, May 19 | 8:30 – 10:00 a.m.
John J. Entsminger
General Manager, SNWA/LVVWD
John J. Entsminger oversees the operations of the Southern Nevada Water Authority, which is responsible for acquiring, treating and delivering water to local agencies that collectively serve 2 million residents and more than 40 million annual visitors, and the Las Vegas Valley Water District, which serves more than 375,000 customer accounts. He has spent his career addressing the unique water challenges facing Southern Nevada. He has been instrumental in developing inter-basin and international agreements protecting Lake Mead water elevations, including the 2007 Colorado River Interim Guidelines and Minutes 319 and 323 to the 1944 U.S. - Mexico Water Treaty.
Carol Ellinger Haddock, P.E., M.ASCE
Director, Houston Public Works
Carol Ellinger Haddock is Director of Houston Public Works, the largest American Public Works Association accredited agency in the nation. The department is responsible for the City’s water and wastewater systems; street and storm drainage systems and regulation of both public and private development. To accomplish this, the department has a trained workforce of nearly 4,000, an annual operating budget of $2.1 billion and an annual capital budget of three-quarters of a billion dollars.
In her nearly two years in leadership, the department has weathered Hurricane Harvey, set records for water treatment in a day, reduced environmental impacts in both the wastewater and stormwater systems, maintained a next business day pot-hole program 99% of the time and supported more than $6 billion in development – much of that related to Hurricane Harvey Recovery.
Jim Lochhead, P.E., M.ASCE
CEO/Manager, Denver Water
Jim Lochhead was appointed Denver Water’s CEO/Manager in 2010. Lochhead also currently serves on the boards of the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies, the Water Research Foundation, the Water Utility Climate Alliance, the Water Foundation and the Denver Botanic Gardens.
Prior to Denver Water, Mr. Lochhead was in private law practice, dealing with natural resource issues throughout the United States and internationally. He was also executive director of the Colorado Department of Natural Resources. Mr. Lochhead was the Colorado governor’s representative on interstate Colorado River operations and served on the Colorado Water Conservation Board, Great Outdoors Colorado, The Nature Conservancy and Colorado Conservation Trust.
James "Jay" Price
Deputy General Manager, Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC)
James (Jay) Price is currently the Deputy General Manager in charge of Operations for the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC Water) where he oversees the Water & Wastewater Production, Engineering & Construction, Utility Services, Police and Homeland Security, and Asset Management departments. Jay returned to WSSC Water in late 2018, after working at Baltimore City DPW for 5½ years. During his time in Baltimore, he served as the Acting Bureau Head of Water & Wastewater and Environmental Services Division Chief. Prior to his time in Baltimore, he worked at WSSC Water for thirty-one years, where he retired as Chief of Plant Operations. He began his career at WSSC in 1982 as a maintenance worker and worked his way up the ranks, holding numerous positions along the way.
Public Relations and Water Education for the Public Workshop
Tuesday, May 19 | 2:00 - 5:30 p.m.
Instructor: Alexa Lopez
Senior Manager, Public Affairs & Media Relations, ASCE Government Relations & Infrastructure Initiatives
Join us for a “crash course” in interacting with the media. This three-hour workshop will focus on the importance of messaging and how your ASCE Section can better educate the media, the public, and elected officials through press outreach. The course will feature a presentation and collaborative activities to further communication skills that can be used in press conferences, media interviews, meetings, and more.
This workshop is offered FREE of charge to all Congress registrants.