Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Water researchers prepare for annual conference

By Shelby Ruud

Two special-topic sessions hosted by a panel of water resource professionals and researchers will be the highlight of the annual Spring Runoff Conference on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The conference, which will be held in the Eccles Conference Center on the USU campus, will focus on water-related issues involving all areas of water science.

The first session will discuss the expansion of Clean Water Act protection to headwater streams and geographically-isolated bodies of water.

The second session will discuss the science and policy of managing the amount of flow left in rivers to sustain ecological functions.

Jack Schmidt, a professor in the Department of Watershed Sciences at USU and the organizer of the second session, said that the lack of snowfall this year and its effect on the Colorado River Basin will be important topics at the session.

“I did not realize how topical this session would be,” he said. “The Spring Runoff Conference is literally the place to be for those individuals working in Colorado River policy.”

Along with the two sessions, the conference will consist of a keynote talk by Professor Lynn Ingram from the University of California, Berkeley and a poster session emphasizing regional research by faculty and students.

“Attendees of the conference will gain a better knowledge of the issues affecting water quality and quantity,” said Charles Hawkins, the head of USU’s Department of Watershed Sciences and the chairman of the conference.

Registration for the conference is $100. Students can register for free.


More information about the conference can be found at http://water.usu.edu/htm/conference. 

No comments:

Post a Comment