Richard Lanyon

Consultant, Retired Executive Director, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago

Free Climate Speaker in Chicago

History and current importance of drainage for a healthy and sustainable Chicago Region

TOPIC CATEGORY: Climate

Richard will discuss how the flow in the Calumet and Chicago Rivers was reversed, why this is still important today to protect public health, and how current water infrastructure reduces flood damages, provides recreation, recovers resources and protects Lake Michigan as a clean and safe source of water. Richard’s topics can be tailored to your local interests. MORE >

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About Richard

Better known as Dick Lanyon, he retired from his position as Executive Director of the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) at the close of 2010, a position that he held for 4½ years. As Executive Director, he directed the day-to-day operations of the MWRD, which included 2,100 employees serving five million peo-ple in Cook County and the industrial equivalent of another four million people. The MWRD provides wastewater and stormwater management and other related services to protect the environment. Dick’s career at the MWRD spanned nearly 48 years. In 2012, Dick published Building the Canal to Save Chicago, a historical documentary of the first project of the MWRD.

Dick received the 2013 Abel Wolman Award from the Chicago Metro Chapter of the American Public Works Association for the single best new book on public works history. Other awards include: American Society of Civil Engineer’s National Government Civil Engineer of the Year Award in 1999; Distinguished Alumnus of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2003; Edward J. Cleary Award from the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists in 2011; and Distinguished Service Award from the National Association of Clean Water Agencies (NACWA) in 2011. He is also a past President of the Illinois Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers and holds Bachelors and Masters of Civil Engineering degrees from the UIUC. In 2013, Dick was inducted into the NACWA Hall of Fame.

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Richard Lanyon

Consultant, Retired Executive Director, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago

Free Climate Speaker in Chicago

History and current importance of drainage for a healthy and sustainable Chicago Region

TOPIC CATEGORY: Climate