WHO WE ARE
THE SUMMIT
The Sustainable Water Investment Summit (SWIS) brings together leading investors, state and municipal officials, entrepreneurs, highly water dependent industries, farmers and ranchers, environmentalists, utility managers, planners, developers and professionals—anyone with a passion for critical water resource strategies, solutions and investment.
SWIS delves into the many facets of water finance—from risk management arbitrage and indexing to water transfers, reallocation, and supply strategy, to how new water storage opportunities, water infrastructure, demand reduction technology and climate innovation capital will shape new opportunities and challenges in the water sector. Located at the Terranea Resort, a luxurious oceanfront destination along the Palos Verdes Peninsula, the event is designed to provide ample opportunities to meet and reconnect with colleagues across the water space.
CO-CHAIRS
BRAD HERREMA
SHAREHOLDER AND NATURAL RESOURCES DEPARTMENT CHAIR
BROWNSTEIN HYATT FARBER SCHRECK
CO-FOUNDER AND CO-CHAIR
SUSTAINABLE WATER INVESTMENT SUMMIT CO-CHAIR
Over 20 years of experience handling the most significant and complex water matters in California, Nevada and across the west. Proven litigation experience. Business-savvy approach to water supply strategy and groundwater management.
Whether developing groundwater management strategies, identifying opportunities for water and agricultural investments, defending against water rights challenges or securing industrial and recreational water supplies, Brad Herrema understands how to synthesize clients’ unique business needs with market realities and key stakeholders’ concerns in mind. Brad serves as special water counsel to private corporations, private equity funds, renewable energy developers, water purveyors, resorts and golf courses, mining companies, investor-owned utilities and landowners developing innovative strategies to address issues such as water supply planning, water right permitting and adjudications, and environmental concerns. Skilled at navigating multi-party dynamics, Brad excels at developing water strategies and implementation that proactively mitigate potential issues. When needed, his experience in adjudications shows his comfort in front of a court.
A trailblazer in groundwater matters, Brad serves as general counsel to the Chino Basin Watermaster, which oversees the implementation of a four-decade old groundwater right adjudication in the Southern California Inland Empire. Actively engaged in the implementation of California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), he helps clients develop property portfolio strategies to manage land and water assets. Brad leads the firm’s California Water practice group and is a director emeritus of the Groundwater Resources Association of California after serving as director for 11 years.
CLAY LANDRY
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
WESTWATER RESEARCH
CO-FOUNDER AND CO-CHAIR
SUSTAINABLE WATER INVESTMENT SUMMIT CO-CHAIR
Clay Landry is the Chief Executive Officer and a Principal of WestWater Research. Mr. Landry has provided valuation and appraisal services on major water acquisition and development projects throughout the United States. He is currently assisting the Central Arizona Groundwater Replenishment District implement the largest water rights acquisition program in the United States. In 2007 he advised an Arizona small municipality on valuing and structuring an auction of municipal effluent water rights which closed at $67 million in proceeds. This project was nominated as Water Deal of the Year. Landry is recognized as a leading authority on water pricing and is routinely called upon as an expert witness by clients such as the IRS, U.S. Department of Interior, Indian tribes, municipal governments, and private companies. He has also worked internationally on water-marketing issues in Australia, Brazil, and the United Kingdom.
Mr. Landry serves as an Associate Editor for Water Resource Impact, a monthly publication of the American Water Resources Association. Prior to founding WestWater Research, Landry was an associate at the Political Economy Research Center (PERC), a public policy research institute that specializes in market approaches to natural resource management. With a strong commitment to market-based stewardship, Landry helped establish the Montana Water Trust, a private nonprofit that buys and leases water rights for stream flow protection. Landry holds a master’s degree in agriculture and resource economics from Oregon State University and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Wyoming.
BROWNSTEIN WATER GROUP
Brownstein’s Water Group is one of the nation’s top water law practices, possessing unparalleled experience in every aspect of water— from strategy, to rights, supply, use and distribution, to water quality, investment, litigation and policy. Our Water Group includes more than 25 attorneys with experience spanning everything from water asset due diligence, water business infrastructure and supply risk assessments to technical consulting on developing water regulations for drought prone countries and navigating red-tape for a cutting-edge distributed blackwater recycling project for urban development. Our practice and track record includes the most significant and complex water projects and litigation in the nation. We represent both public and private water producers, investors and banks, suppliers and providers, including municipalities, wholesale and retail water agencies, public utilities, industrial users, real estate and land developers, agricultural interests, significant land owners and various water-related public policy organizations.
WESTWATER RESEARCH
WestWater Research is the leading economic consulting firm in market research, pricing, valuation, and transaction advisory services for water rights and water resource development. For more than 20 years, our clients have relied on our expertise to make sound water resource management and financial decisions as water demands increasingly outpace available supplies. WestWater works across the country with five regional offices to provide market intelligence, valuation, transaction advisory, strategic planning, and asset management services relating to water rights and water resources. We are known for our rigorous analysis and information-driven investment strategy formulation. Backed by more than thirty years of research and data collection, our proprietary Waterlitix database is the world’s largest and most comprehensive pricing tool for water transactions in the West. At WestWater Research, we know the value of water.