Elizabeth Cousins Recognized as a West Trailblazer for 2021
Elizabeth Cousins was recognized by The American Lawyer as one of its "West Trailblazers" for 2021. The publication recognized a handful of lawyers from across the Western region of the U.S.—defined as Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming—who are "truly agents of change."
During her interview with American Lawyer, Elizabeth discussed her work as lead attorney on the East County Advanced Water Purification project in East San Diego County. She said the project is "a collaborative regional partnership that will create a new, local, sustainable and drought-proof drinking water supply, while protecting sensitive ecosystems and the environment. [It] will use state-of- the-art technology to purify East San Diego County's recycled water to produce up to 30 percent of East County's drinking water supply. The concept is of great interest to other cities and municipalities at a state and national level who have similar water supply issues, and are looking for an environmentally friendly, cost-effective way to manage those issues."
Commenting on the impact of the project, Elizabeth added that it "will significantly reduce the region's dependence on imported water, and ensure that residents of one of California's largest metro areas have a more sustainable and abundant supply of drinking water."
Elizabeth also mentioned that starting her career in Perth, Australia enabled her to "work on a number of transformational water projects in Australia and now the U.S."