The Environmental & Water Resources Institute of the American Society of Civil Engineers will host a conference on low impact development (LID) January 19–21, 2015, and the Water Environment Federation is a cooperating organization. Held in Houston, the 2015 International Low Impact Development Conference will cover research developments and community adoption of LID in the U.S. and internationally. Being in the southwest, the conference will focus on LID in that region of the country and include a mini-symposium on LID in arid environments. During the three-day conference, topics covered will likely include LID performance, planning and site design, education and outreach, policy, construction, maintenance, costs, and more.

CNN’s 2013 Hero of the Year, Chad Pregracke, will be speaking at the plenary lunch session on Jan. 19. Hear “Helping to Clean America’s Rivers: From the Bottom Up.” As the founder of U.S.-based river clean-up organization, Living Lands & Waters, Chad tells a compelling and funny story about growing up on the river, and how his river experiences led to his unique vision to clean up the Mississippi River. From the darkness of underwater shell-diving to the brightness of open-air community clean-ups, Chad’s tale embodies the importance of setting goals — one river and one piece of garbage at a time — and illustrates how determination, hard-work, and persistence pay off.