GeoDecisions and Gannett Fleming Support Student-Focused HydroMania Water Festival

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GeoDecisions Marketing Manager Ricardo Duarte and Lehigh County Authority Chief Administrative Officer Liesel Adam in action during HydroMania.

GeoDecisions Marketing Manager Ricardo Duarte and Lehigh County Authority Chief Administrative Officer Liesel Adam in action during HydroMania.

(June 1, 2015/Harrisburg, Pa.) GeoDecisions staff helped elementary students make a splash and map the water treatment process on May 14 at Cedar Crest College near Allentown, Pennsylvania, during HydroMania 2015. An information technology (IT) company specializing in geospatial solutions, GeoDecisions joined fellow exhibitors, sponsors, volunteers, and more than 1,200 third and fourth grade students eager to explore interactive demonstrations throughout the watershed education event.

“HydroMania generates curiosity, excitement, and understanding among our region’s youth about current water issues, resulting in a lifetime of watershed-friendly water-use habits,” said Liesel Adam, chief administrative officer with Lehigh County Authority. “It’s a great day for everyone involved, from students and educators to the community of water utilities that have partnered together for the past 15 years to make this event possible.”

GeoDecisions and its parent company, Gannett Fleming, supported HydroMania 2015 through a hands-on exhibit that explained how water is treated. Students helped demonstrate water filtration using bottles consisting of sand, gravel, garnet, or anthracite filter media. A 3-D video tour of Pennsylvania’s Red Lion Municipal Cabin Creek Water Treatment Plant also provided third and fourth graders with a better understanding of engineering concepts and visualization techniques.

“Through HydroMania, we have a community opportunity to educate elementary students while sparking their interest in math, science, and computer technology,” said Ricardo Duarte, marketing manager with GeoDecisions. “Event organizers and volunteers do an amazing job of developing an age-appropriate HydroMania curriculum, from ‘Dewey the Water Drop’ to exhibitor scavenger hunts.”

GeoDecisions’ experienced staff of professional consultants, analysts, and developers support clients worldwide. Fundamental to the company’s award-winning approach is the integration of spatial information to empower existing systems and processes. GeoDecisions’ philosophy is based on an enterprisewide approach to the integration of diverse information technologies, data formats, and systems. We are proud to be an Esri Gold-tier Business Partner and ISO 9001:2008 Certified.

Gannett Fleming has served as a partner in global infrastructure for 100 years. We have helped improve communities through transportation, environmental, water, power, and facility-related projects in more than 65 countries. As our 2,000 employees celebrate this milestone, we look forward to a second century of delivering innovation and excellence. We provide planning, design, technology, and construction management services for a diverse range of markets and disciplines. From more than 60 offices around the world, we embrace sustainability and innovation for all activities, finding the best solutions and the most efficient processes to meet our clients’ complex challenges. Founded in 1915, Gannett Fleming had $327 million in revenues in 2014. We are proud to be ISO 9001:2008 Certified.

Celebrating its 15th anniversary, HydroMania is organized by Lehigh Valley Water Suppliers, Inc., based in Allentown, Pennsylvania, consisting of the following member utilities: Borough of Alburtis, Borough of Catasauqua, Borough of Emmaus, Borough of Macungie, Borough of Slatington, City of Allentown, City of Bethlehem, City of Easton, Easton Suburban Water Authority, Hellertown Borough Authority, Lehigh County Authority, Lower Saucon Authority, Northhampton Borough Municipal Authority, Salisbury Township, South Whitehall Township, Upper Saucon Township, and Whitehall Township Authority.