Our Watershed Moment, Building Communities for Conservation

The 16th annual Iowa Water Conference will be held on September 28-29, 2022 in Dubuque Iowa. We all live in a watershed; each watershed has one common resource – its water. The Mississippi River and its watershed are the foundation for a large, diverse community that affects the use and resilience of many of this country’s natural resources. Individuals and communities throughout the region have stories to tell. How does water impact them? How are they innovating to increase resilience and mitigate the impacts of climate change?

The conference will emphasize the historical influence the river has had on neighboring communities, agriculture, recreation, and ecology, as well as examine the roles Iowa and other neighboring states have in protecting it. This year’s theme emphasizes the importance that watershed citizenship has in making strides towards improving soil health and water quality goals in our communities, in our watersheds, and in the larger region – The Mississippi River Basin.

At the Iowa Water Conference, sharing these stories will connect us through shared experiences within the river basin. We hope you join us for these timely discussions in Dubuque as we come together to explore the value of water in our watershed community.

The Iowa Water Conference is IWC’s largest outreach and collaboration effort with a dozen planning partners.

The conference is designed to bring together multi-disciplinary organizations and institutions to discuss relevant water issues in Iowa. The inaugural event in 2006 combined several existing conferences with the purpose of coordinating research and management efforts. Today’s conference draws over 400 attendees and still strives to encompass the whole of Iowa’s water landscape including expanding into realms of education and outreach, conservation, policy, and regulations.