The 2010 AWRA Spring Specialty Conference GIS & Water Resources VI was held on March 29-31, 2010, in Orlando, Florida. This was the sixth conference in a series of specialty conferences on this topic, and we were pleased by the response from our colleagues. More than 240 abstracts were submitted, which reflected an increase from previous AWRA GIS & Water Resources conferences. From these abstracts, we selected more than 50 for posters and more than 150 for oral presentations. In addition to presenters coming from all over the United Sates, we were also joined by presenters from Canada, Argentina, Brazil, China, Mexico, Spain, France, Australia, Sweden, and India. This consistent growth in the number of abstracts submitted, the number of conference presentations and the number of countries represented reflects the general growth in the use of GIS by water resources professionals. We are rapidly approaching the point in which all water resources analysis will include a GIS component.
The conference technical program comprised material that reflected the mixture of work in our community and the many different ways in which we all use GIS. Some topics are becoming classics; some others are new. We keep working on hydrologic modeling, land use, precipitation, data development, and watershed and floodplain delineation, but we are also expanding our work to include hydrologic information systems, Internet-based data sharing and software interface development. Undoubtedly, the diversity of our community’s interests is our best resource.
The conference and proceedings are the result of the hard work of a number of people I would like to recognize. First of all, Sandra Fox, the Conference Chair, contributed her vast expertise, enthusiasm and time to helping organize this event. All the good things in this conference were touched by her one way or another. It was a pleasure and a privilege to share with her the responsibility of making this conference a success. I also want to recognize the staff of AWRA and EEInternet for taking care of all the details and leading us in the right direction. This program would also have never been assembled together without the contribution of the abstract and paper reviewers, which included Dan Ames, John Beebe, Khansith Boupha, Stephen Bourne, Kelly Brumbelow, Julie Coonrod, Dean Djokic, Jon Goodall, David Jones, Lorri Peltz-Lewis, Venkatesh Merwade, Gretchen Miller, Glenn Moglen, James Nelson, Amanda Parker and Tim Whiteaker. They were generous with their time and accommodating to a paper submission process that seemed to never end.
These proceedings are another milestone for our community, and are becoming a tradition every two years. We trust that what we discussed and proposed in this conference will lead to better water resources management for all of us.
Francisco Olivera, Ph.D., P.E.
2010 AWRA Spring Specialty Conference GIS & Water Resources
VI
Technical Program Committee Chair
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