Introducing a new intern by reflecting on #iowah2o

Marianne Murchison joined the Iowa Water Center as an intern from University of Missouri Columbia Masters of Public Health Policy and Promotion program in June 2016.  Her background is in Political Science, Nonprofit Management and Public Health Policy.  Since 2013, she has been supporting conservation efforts of the USDA NRCS in Iowa, Missouri and Oklahoma.  She hopes to merge her education and experience to positively impact how the public views water quality and conservation as a public health issue.

“Drinking water supply is multidisciplinary.” – P. Barry Butler. These were the opening remarks for University of Iowa Public Policy Drinking Water Symposium titled Iowa’s Drinking Water: Could Flint Happen Here? held on June 17th 2016 in Des Moines.  Throughout the day, speakers elaborated on their areas of expertise concerning Iowa’s drinking water concerns.  Topics covered included: supply and demand (mainly making sure we price the commodity accurately), Lessons that Iowa can learn from the Flint, Michigan water crisis, exploration of the technology and innovation that are poised to revolutionize the drinking water industry, Iowa’s agricultural and natural threats to its drinking water supply and the best way to use policy to protect Iowa’s Drinking Water.  Each topic further elaborated on how complex an issue access to safe water resources is in the state and beyond.

The overarching message was that Iowa’s drinking water concerns are environmental and public health problems.  Framing safe drinking water as a public health necessity brings everyone together around this issue.  While there were various opinions of how to protect and improve Iowa’s water resources were discussed, what was not up for debate was that if nothing is done, Flint-like problems could hit vulnerable water resources and aging infrastructure in Iowa and beyond.  Everyone is part of the problem we all must be part of the solution.  Iowans and water quality experts need to own their responsibility to solve and prevent water quality issues and, in Gandhi’s words, “be the change we want to see in the world” . . . of water.

Comment below and tell us what part you play in a sustainable future for Iowa’s drinking water.

We’ve got news…

It’s been a little quiet around this old blog-that tends to happen in the aftermath of the Iowa Water Conference. A challenge we’ve always faced is limited staff – you’ll notice there are only two faces on our About Us page.

That’s about to change. Today, our posting for a program assistant went live on iastatejobs.com. As public interest in Iowa’s water management has heated up, so has the role we’re able to play in shaping Iowa’s water future. The Iowa Watershed Approach grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and increasing expansion of the Daily Erosion Project have put us in a place where we not only need more staff, we have the support to do so.

So what will the program assistant do? Lots of important stuff. Does that sum it up? Okay, to be more specific, this person will:

  • administer our competitive grants program
  • help with planning education and outreach events (including the Iowa Water Conference)
  • keep track of the approximately 10 million details involved in managing IWC sponsored projects
  • spread the word about all the fantastic water research and activities going on

We’re looking for a know-it-all. A details person. A deadline embracer. A communicator.

The posting is currently open through June 5. If you or someone you know are interested in this position, please review the job posting and submit through the Iowa State system. Want to talk it through? Call or email. We’re ready.

Iowa Groundwater Association Conference March 31

The Iowa Water Conference isn’t the only learning opportunity around these here parts – make sure you sign up to attend the Iowa Groundwater Association‘s Spring Conference. Registration is due in advance, so hop on over to their website to register – $75/members, $100/non-members, and $25/students until 3/24.

The details:

Thursday, March 31, 2016

DMACC Conference Center Auditorium – 600 N. 2nd Ave. West, Newton, Iowa

IGWA is honored to present this exciting line-up of speakers for our spring conference! Please join us in learning about the Flint Water Study, the DMWW lawsuit, avian influenza, antibiotic resistant bacteria, arsenic, radionuclides, and source water protection!

CEU’s are available for Groundwater Professionals (2), Certified Well Contractors (6), and Water Treatment Operators (0.5).

Presentations:

  • Detection of Avian Influenza A in Groundwater: Results from the 2015 HPAI Outbreak – Laura Hubbard, USGS
  • Protecting Source Waters in Agricultural Watersheds – Bill Stowe, Des Moines Water Works
  • Flint Water Study – Anurag Mantha, Virginia Tech
  • Fate and Transport of Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria and Resistance Genes in Tile Drained Agricultural Fields Receiving Swine Manure Application Over Four Years – Elizabeth Luby, Iowa State University
  • Arsenic and Old Wells: Reducing Contamination Risks for Private Well Users – Sophia Walsh, Cerro Gordo County Dept. of Public Health
  • Radionuclides in Alluvial and Shallow Bedrock Aquifers – Dustin May, State Hygienic Laboratory/University of Iowa
  • Hydrogeologic Reconnaissance and Characterization for a Groundwater Source of Supply: Fort Madison, Iowa Case Study – Greg Brennan, HR Green              

Water research presentations at the Iowa Water Conference

In addition to the many breakout presentations already scheduled at the Iowa Water Conference, we’ll also offer a venue for recent water research to be presented. The following eight presentations have been scheduled:

Wednesday, March 23

Plans to Make Satellite Soil Moisture Work in Iowa
Brian Hornbuckle, Iowa State University Department of Agronomy

New satellites are producing maps of current soil moisture conditions.  There are problems, however.  A NASA-led field experiment will be conducted in Central Iowa this coming summer to address these issues.   We will describe the experiment plan.

Effects of Some Phosphorus and Soil Conservation Management Practices on Dissolved and Total Phosphorus Loss with Surface Runoff
Antonio Mallarino & Mazaq U. Har, Iowa State University Department of Agronomy

Efforts are being developed at federal, state, and private levels to reduce the impact of agricultural practices on phosphorus (P) loss from fields and water quality impairment. This presentation will share results of recent and ongoing Iowa research that has been looking at how management practices such as the P rate and source as well as other conservation practices impact the amount and proportion of dissolved and particulate P loss with surface runoff.

Understanding the Diversity in Nutrient Management Practice Use in Midwestern Agriculture
Hanna Bates, Prairie Rivers of Iowa

Social science studies have shown that information access and social networks can affect nutrient management practice adoption. In this presentation, we ask: What is the relationship between different aspects of farmers’ social networks and the adoption of diverse nutrient management practices?  Using 2012 Rural Life Farm Poll data, this presentation attempts to answer that question and explore implications for outreach and technical support strategies to farmers.

How Efficiently do Corn- and Soybean-based Cropping Systems use Water? A Systems Modeling Analysis
Ranae Dietzel, Iowa State University Department of Agronomy

Agricultural systems are being challenged to decrease water use and increase production while climate becomes more variable and the world’s population grows. This work looked at systems-level definition of water use efficiency that addresses both production and environmental quality goals through incorporating all major system water losses. It provides a framework to concurrently evaluate production and environmental performance of cropping systems.

Thursday, March 24

Getting Into Soil and Water Virtually with PEWI
Lisa Schulte Moore, Iowa State University Natural Resource Ecology and Management

Soil and water conservation are top priorities for Iowans, but we are challenged in how to achieve it. Trying new things is costly, which stymies creativity. This presentation discusses an online tool, PEW, developed to help overcome this hurdle.

Comparing the water-use and water-use-efficiency of biomass sorghum and maize in the rain-fed, Midwest, US
Matt Roby, Iowa State University Department of Agronomy

Climate variability and a projected increase in demand for non-grain ethanol feedstock may necessitate expanding the production of more water-use-efficient and less drought sensitive crops for biofuel applications in the Midwest, US. This research highlights the importance of understanding the potential effects of expanding biomass sorghum production on the hydrologic cycle of the Midwestern US.

Seasonal forecasting of discharge for the Raccoon River at Van Meter, Iowa
Gabriele Villarini, University of Iowa IIHR-Hydroscience and Engineering

The state of Iowa is regularly afflicted by severe natural hazards such as the 2008/2013 floods and the 2012 drought. To improve preparedness for these catastrophic events and allow Iowans to make more informed decisions about the most suitable water management strategies, we have developed a framework for medium to long range probabilistic seasonal streamflow forecasting for the Raccoon River at Van Meter, a 8900-km2 catchment located in central-western Iowa.

Assessment of Flood Mitigation Strategies for the City of Kalona, Iowa
David Koser, University of Iowa IIHR-Hydroscience and Engineering

In order to reduce flooding, communitites often try to control runoff with a storm sewer network, detention basins, low impact developments, and upstream storage to reduce stream overflow. A couple 1D/2D hydraulic model using XPSWMM was created for the town of Kalona, IA, to test different strategies for flood reduction.

Registration open for 2016 Iowa Water Conference

It’s here! It’s perhaps one of the best days of the year over here at the Iowa Water Center! Registration has opened for the 2016 Iowa Water Conference. There is an overwhelming amount of information on the conference website, so scurry over there and take your time checking everything out. Some of the highlights:

  • $150 regular/$75 student registration – ends March 11. Add $25 for late registration.
  • $50 optional workshop – “The Psychology of Sustainable Behavior: A skill building workshop to support voluntary behavior change”
  • $500 commercial exhibits/$50 nonprofit exhibits – commercial exhibits include one registration
  • Poster registration is online again this year (there’s a big red button on the bottom to start registration)

Have any questions about this year’s conference? Call Melissa Miller at 515-294-7467 or send an email to millerms@iastate.edu. Can’t wait to see you in March!

P.S. If you see anyone from any of the following organizations, give them a pat on the back for their hard work in helping plan this year’s conference: Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Iowa Flood Center, Iowa Floodplain and Stormwater Management Association, Iowa State University Extension and Outreach, Iowa Storm Water Education Program, Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture, Luther College, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Trees Forever and the U.S. Geological Survey — Iowa Water Science Center.

Open call for presentations: Soil and Water Conservation Society Annual Conference

The Soil and Water Conservation Society will host their 71st International Annual Conference in July this year, and accepting oral presentations, posters, symposia, and workshops until this Thursday, January 7.

The conference is titled “Managing Great River Landscapes,” and it’s in Louisville, Kentucky from Sunday, July 24 to Wednesday, July 27. This year’s conference features four submission tracks:

  • Conservation Systems in the Riparian Corridor
  • Water Quality Trading
  • Protecting Water Quality at a Multi-State Scale
  • 2016 General Conference Submissions – Great River Landscapes
    • Adaptive Management of Conservation Efforts
    • Conservation Economics and Policy
    • Conservation Models, Tools, and Technologies
    • Conservation in Nontraditional Agriculture
    • Outreach, Education, and Community Engagement
    • Social Sciences Informing Conservation
    • Soil Health Resources, Indicators, Assessment, and Management
    • Water Resources Assessment and Management

The full call for presentations is available for download on the SWCS Annual Conference page.

The Twelfth [Business] Day of Christmas: Iowa Water Conference “Extras”

On the twelfth [business] day of Christmas, the Iowa Water Center gave to me… lots more information on the “extra” happenings at the 2016 Iowa Water Conference. Registration for the 2016 conference will open in January. Stay tuned!

Poster Presentation & Student Contest

As in years past, posters will be displayed in the second floor lobby. Any attendee of the conference who would like to share information on their research or science-in-practice projects are welcome to submit an application. Registration to share a poster will be available online in January.

Poster authors are provided one 4’x8′ display board covered with white paper on top of a 6′ table. Posters should be set up Wednesday, March 23 between 8 and 10 a.m. Posters may be removed after 2:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 24.

Students are encouraged to entire their poster in the poster contest. First, second, and third place will receive cash awards. Contestants will be visited by judges between 2:10 and 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday to answer questions about their research.

Oral research presentations

Researchers wishing to present their recent work are invited to submit an abstract to Dr. Rick Cruse. Presenters will be given 30 minute slots during breakout session times at the conference (PowerPoint is available). Up to eight submissions will be accepted. Please send titles and abstracts to rmc@iastate.edu by February 1.

Iowa Water Priorities White Paper Session 2016

As a follow up to the 2015 white paper session, Dr. Rick Cruse will lead participants in a discussion to prioritize water resource management issues and opportunities in the state of Iowa. The white paper developed from the 2015 session was presented to the Water Resources Coordinating Council, published on the Iowa Water Center website and distributed at various conference. The 2016 white paper will receive additional strategic exposure. This session will take place at the close of the conference beginning at 3 p.m. on Thursday, March 24. Individuals wishing to participate but unable to attend may submit their comments during the conference or when filling out the post-conference evaluation.

2016 Photo Contest

The Iowa Water Conference Photo Contest, a perennial favorite, will return in 2016. Each photographer can enter two photos that contain a water component – this year, they are asked to include a human or animal/fish element to the photograph.

Full contest rules are available online. Winners will be announced during the luncheon awards session on Thursday, March 24.

We hope you’ve enjoyed the last twelve [business] days of Christmas. Happy holidays, and we’ll see you for registration in January!

The Eleventh [Business] Day of Christmas: Workshop: The Psychology of Sustainable Behavior

On the eleventh [business] day of Christmas, the Iowa Water Center gave to me…more information on the optional workshop to occur after the close of the Iowa Water Conference beginning at 3 p.m. on Thursday, March 24. The workshop will cost an additional fee of $50, payable during online registration (opening in early January) or on-site at the conference.

The Psychology of Sustainable Behavior – A skill-building workshop to support voluntary behavior change
Christie Manning, Macalester College

This workshop will describe in greater detail the tools introduced in the plenary talk: Engaging people to preserve water resources – Insights from Psychology. Psychological research offers many clues to why people behave in certain ways or make particular choices. The workshop will offer several exercises designed to help you:

(1)  Understand the audience you are trying to reach. Who is responsible for water pollution and/or resource protection? How does your audience think of themselves? What values do people in your community hold, and does water protection align with those values? Who is a credible messenger to represent water resource protection to this group, and what are the effective frames for communicating the message?

(2)  Change the social norms. Are the behaviors that lead to water resource issues unremarkable or accepted as normal? Are people uncomfortable speaking up about water issues because they don’t want to draw negative attention to themselves? Social norms like this keep people locked into bad habits. We’ll talk about how to change the social perception of water use; to create and communicate a new “normal” and help shift people’s behavior.

(3)  Make hidden information visible. Human beings, like other biological organisms, respond to information that strikes the senses. Yet many water issues are undetectable – pollutants are invisible and odorless, runoff tends to occur far from where people live, and “a million gallons” of reported water waste is abstract and intangible. We’ll discuss strategies for making invisible information concrete, visible, and sensory-based.

(4)  Build people’s competence. People have a basic psychological need to feel competent. When faced with a task that they don’t know how to do, or fear they may do badly, motivation drops. Solving water resource issues will involve learning new ways to do everyday actions – and this may threaten people’s competence and lead to resistance. In the workshop, we’ll cover methods to boost competence and motivation and support more sustainable community-wide water habits.

The workshop facilitator, Dr. Christie Manning, has spent the last 15 years applying psychological research to issues of natural resource use and sustainability.

The Tenth [Business] Day of Christmas: Breakouts: Nutrient Management

On the tenth [business] day of Christmas, the Iowa Water Center gave to me…descriptions for the breakout session Nutrient Management.

The following presentations will take place at the Iowa Water Conference in Ames on the morning of Thursday, March 24, 2016. Registration for the conference will open in January.

Urban-Rural Water Quality Partnerships
Dustin Miller, General Counsel, Iowa League of Cities and Jonathan Gano, Public Works Director, City of Des Moines; moderated by Sean McMahon, Executive Director, Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance

Increasingly, Iowa cities are expressing interest in partnering with farmers to improve water quality. Municipal Waste Water Treatment facilities recognize that they can meet future permit obligations in a far more cost-effective manner if they invest in conservation practices such as saturated buffers, bioreactors and nutrient treatment wetlands, provided that they receive credits for the resulting nutrient loading reductions to apply to their future permit obligations. Additionally, urban partners such as the Greater Des Moines Partnership (GDP) are interested in finding solutions to water quality. Learn about innovative new strategies and partnerships to create new revenue streams for conservation.

Targeted Variable Rate Fertilizer Application: A rare win for water quality and farmers
Rebecca Kluckhohn, P.E., Principal, Wenck Associates, Inc.

Results of a pilot project illustrate that cost share and non-government enrollment processes motivated farmers to apply fertilizer at a variable rate based on soil test results. Changes in fertilizer application, crop yields, nutrient export and cost savings were tracked.

Real-time continuous nitrate monitoring provides insights into N loss mechanisms
Caroline Davis, Assistant Research Scientist, IIHR-University of Iowa

University of Iowa’s real-time monitoring network and water quality information system (WQIS) provide insights into N loss mechanisms, and help explain why stream N varies between watersheds and calendar periods. The on-line user tool disseminates this data to the public.

Runoff Risk: A Decision Support Tool for Nutrient Application Timing
Dustin Goering, Hydrologist, North Central River Forecast Center, National Weather Service

Current and proposed expansion of a decision support tool leveraging NWS real-time modeling to alert farmers and applicators of future unsuitable conditions for nutrient application. Successful adoption could lower nutrient losses from fields and provide economic as well as environmental benefits.

The Ninth [Business] Day of Christmas: Breakout: Green Infrastructure: Benefits & Maintenance

On the ninth [business] day of Christmas, the Iowa Water Center gave to me…descriptions for the breakout session Green Infrastructure: Benefits & Maintenance.

The following presentations will take place at the Iowa Water Conference in Ames on the morning of Thursday, March 24, 2016. Registration for the conference will open in January.

Pollinators and Water Quality: Five Key Connections
Dan Shaw, Vegetation Specialist/Landscape Ecologist, Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources

Water quality projects can provide benefits to a variety of pollinators  including honey bees, native bees, skippers, native flies, and butterflies. A few adjustments to project designs can maximize benefits for pollinators and help meet their needs for clean water sources, abundant floral resources, expanded corridors, protection from pesticides, and sufficient nesting sites. This presentation will focus on the link between water quality and pollinator projects, summarize research about pollinator habitat needs, and provide suggestions to guide project planning and design.

Up the Brick Street, with a paddle
Steven Diers, ICMA-CM, City Administrator, Charles City, Iowa

In 2010 and then again in 2012 the City of Charles City installed 26 blocks of permeable paved streets.  Due to the overall success of these projects the total number has increased to 28 blocks and there are plans for more in the near future.  In about the same time frame the city also built the state’s first whitewater course, which has brought new life and visitors to what was a “forgotten” part of town.  Learn the successes, challenges and lessons learned from these two innovative projects.

Evaluating the benefits of watershed and stream habitat improvements to fish and other aquatic life
Mike Steuck, Northeast Regional Fisheries Supervisor, Iowa Department of Natural Resources

This presentation explores improving fish populations through watershed and fish habitat improvement practices.

Stream Channel Restoration to Improve Dissolved Oxygen
Rebecca Kluckhohn, P.E., Principal, Wenck Associates, Inc.

Case study of a stream/riparian wetland complex restoration optimizing channel design to improve dissolved oxygen and protect downstream lakes from the soluble phosphorus export. DO concentrations improved, tolerant/super-tolerant species populations declined, improved Hilsenhoff Biotic Index, reduced P export.