2022 Annual Water Resources Conference Topics

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NOTICE: This is not a hybrid conference.

UPDATED: May 16, 2022

Agriculture

BMP performance
Design
Implementation Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs)
Control of non-point contaminant sources
Drought sensitive crops
Fertilizers
Financing BMPs
Impacts on water supply and quality
Irrigation demand – present and future
Irrigation efficiency
Irrigation water reuse
Pesticides
Waste management and disposal
Water requirements for ethanol production
Water reuse

Anthropology, Culture, Education and Related

Adult education and outreach
Education on water resources at K-12 levels
Hydrology and anthropology
Hydrology and archaeology
Hydrology and religion
Hydrophilanthrophy
Impacts of man-made impoundments on watersheds
Indigenous peoples water beliefs and issues
Language barriers (cultural, international, interdisciplinary)
Licensing or registration of water resources professionals
Native American water issues
Sociological issues of watershed management and stewardship
Water in literature, culture, art, and music
Water resources in the future

Climate Change & Adaptation

Ecosystem migrations
Flooding and droughts: Severity and frequency
Impacts on current water scarce areas
Impacts on freshwater availability and supplies
Impacts on glaciers and glaciation
Impacts on water quality
Rain and snowfall issues and distribution
Sea level rise
Managed retreat

Coasts & Oceans

Beach erosion
Desalination
Development impacts
Dwindling fish and marine mammal populations
Hypoxia
Impacts of natural disasters
Impacts of anthropogenic disasters
Ocean disposal of wastewater
Salt water-freshwater interfaces
Salt water intrusion into aquifers
Sea level changes
Subsidence

Communications

Role of TV, radio and print media in Water Resources
Fake news
Social media impacts and opportunities – general
Social media usage by water leaders
Role of media in emergency preparedness, response and recovery
Use of webinars and other tools in information dissemination
MOOCs and other distance learning as windows to water
Podcasts

Diversity, Inclusivity, Equity & Related Issues

Diversity inclusivity and equity: where are we going & when will we arrive?
Institutional racism, sexism and ageism
Professional societies: still relevant?
The 'gray tsunami' - replacing the 'old guard'?
Education models - time for a change?
Social media
Stakeholders - engagement models
Students and young professionals (SYPs)
Ways of knowing
Ethical issues

Drought

Adaptation measures
Frequency and severity
Impacts on food production and producers
Long term impacts on the economy
Prediction

Economics & Finance

Benefit-cost analyses
Pricing drinking water
Private financing of water projects
Public financing of water projects
Role of subsidies
Role of economics in project evaluation
Value of water
Valuing water service
Who pays?

Ecosystems

Balancing human needs with faunal and floral needs
Competing uses/needs for limited water supplies
Design and performance of buffers
Developing partnerships with competing water users
Ecosystem restoration
Environmental impacts of diversions
Environmental impacts of impoundments
Financing environmental/ecosystem restoration
Instream flows - ecosystem requirements
Restoration of mine lands and impacted watersheds
Restoration successes and failures
Riparian restoration
Sediment control in ecosystems
Socioeconomic aspects of riparian areas and management
Stream ecology

Groundwater & Soil Water

Aquifer storage recovery (ASR)/Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR)
Confined and unconfined aquifers
Deep-well injection of wastewater
Groundwater movement (flow systems)
Groundwater - source water protection
Groundwater/surface water relationships
Hydrofracking
Impacts of mining
Natural infiltration, recharge and source areas
Stormwater infiltration
Surface water/groundwater/ecosystem interactions
Surface contamination of shallow and deep aquifers
Water level declines or rises
Aquifer water quality
Springflow
Volcanic aquifers
Vadose zone hydrology

Infrastructure

Ageing infrastructure
Creative financing of infrastructures
Distribution systems infrastructure (Source to tap)
Drain to disposal infrastructure
Harbors and port facilities
Impoundments – construction, restoration, removal
Levees
Locks and dams
Inland navigation
River channelization, dredging

International Issues

Appropriate technologies for developing areas/nations
Transboundary treaties, agreements, transfers, and allocations
Globalization of water issues
Hydrophilanthropy
International regulatory conflicts
Management and governance principles
Privatization of utilities; infrastructure
Responsibilities of developed nations to developing nations
Technology sharing
Water resources security
World Water Fora and other mega-meetings: still useful?
Water law

Integrated Water Resources Management

Groundwater in IWRM
Case studies
Criteria
Education
IWRM in other countries
IWRM versus adaptive management
Public input to IWRM projects
Small versus large IWRM projects
Resilience and IWRM
IWRM - still a useful concept?
IWRM and water quality
One Water and other branded versions of IWRM

Management & Governance

Adaptive management
Communicating science to policy makers
Decision support systems
Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
Innovative techniques
Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM)
Internet
Modeling
Real time data
Remote sensing
Technology information and dissemination

Pacific Northwest Topics

Aquifer storage and recovery/Managed Aquifer Recharge: case studies
Coastal zone management: land-use effects, etc.
Columbia River Basin
Columbia River Compact: worth the trouble?
Columbia River Treaty
Costs and benefits of environmental services
Dam removal
Ecosystem management and restoration
Exempt wells
Fisheries
Future of snow
Groundwater-dependent ecosystems
Hydrogeology of volcanic aquifers
IWRM: Innovative Water Resources Management?
Stormwater as water supply
US - Canada transboundary issues
Voices of the Unheard: Indigenous Peoples and People of Color
Voices of the Unheard: Students and Young Professionals (SYPs)
Water laws and regulations
Water resource communications
Water resources response to climate change, extreme weather

Policy, Planning, & Legal Issues

Adapting government programs to watershed management and regulation
Balancing development and environmental policies
Communicating with policy- and decisions-makers
Compacts and agreements
Drought management/conservation
Forest planning and management
History of water laws/policy
Innovative marketing/banking
Integrated water resources planning
Integration of water quality and water quantity management
Land use planning
Legislative initiatives, state and federal
Market-based solutions to scarcity or overabundance
Meeting and managing demand
National water vision/strategy
Planning and management of water resources in rural areas
Political hydrology
Range planning and management
Reuse
Safeguarding water supplies
Stateline faults and water policy – a watershed approach?
Urban planning
Water laws
Water transfers - benefits/costs

Surface Water

Best Management Practices (BMP) – performance
Downstream impacts of mine tailings
Energy production
Effects of diversions and channel alterations
Flood forecasting, warning, preparedness
Forecast-Informed Reservoir Operation (FIRO)
Flooding and floodplain management
Fluvial geomorphology
Innovative technologies of storm water management
Managing competing uses and needs
Managing nonpoint source pollution
Managing point source pollution
Mitigating storm water damage/retrofitting
River operations – flow management
Stormwater management and innovative technologies
Stream channel processes
System operation and maintenance
Watershed planning and management
Water and energy

Urbanization

Community based restoration and management
Financing restoration and volunteer efforts
Hydrologic changes – effects on urban streams and floodplains
Infiltration and runoff
Land use changes
Residential land stewardship
Reuse of gray water
Urban storm water impacts
Volunteer restoration and management initiatives
Water saving techniques and initiatives

Utilities

Aging Infrastructure Solutions
Alternative Water Supply
Aquifer Storage & Recovery
Asset Management
Deep Well Injection
Direct and Indirect Potable Reuse
Disinfection Technology Advancements
Emerging Contaminants – PFAS, others
Innovative Reuse Alternatives
Membrane Technology Advancements
One Water Implementation Strategies
Operation and Maintenance Strategies
Pipe Rehabilitation Measures
Pipeline Condition Assessment and Water Loss Control
Public Education and Trust
Risk & Resilience; Infrastructure Protection and Hardening Concepts
Septic-to-Sewer Funding and Case Studies
Source Water Protection Practices
Utility Rates and Affordability Concepts
Wastewater Treatment – Nutrient Removal Technologies
Water Treatment Technologies (pros and cons)
Waterborne Pathogens

Water Quality

Acid mine drainage
Agriculture and/or mining impacts on water quality
Effects of dredging and other stream management techniques
Emerging and 'Forever' contaminants
Establishing Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs)
Impacts of storm water on water quality
Implementing TMDLs
Laboratory methodologies
Low flow/high flow/combined TMDLs
Monitoring
Nanotechnology
Nutrients and nutrient management
Pathogens in watersheds
Remediation
Salinity removal techniques; successes and failures
Source water quality protection
Turbidity and sediment impacts on water quality
Water quality standards and regulations

Wetlands & Lakes

Conflicting issues
Created wetland successes
Design and construction of created wetlands
Effects of acid rain
Eutrophication/nutrient impacts
Lake management and restoration
Mitigation
Regulations
Reservoir management and restoration
Sedimentation
Shoreline maintenance and restoration
Tourism and recreation
Watershed/wetland/lake interactions
Wetland functions and values
Wetland restoration and protection