Reflecting on the Iowa Water Center

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Tianna Griffin (left) at the 2018 Iowa Water Conference

[Editor’s Note: We would like to thank Tianna for all of her hard work while at the Iowa Water Center. We wish her the best on her next endeavors!]

Post submitted by Tianna Griffin, the Iowa Water Center’s Special Projects Assistant

As my time with the Iowa Water Center comes to an end, I would like to reflect on my experience. I have enjoyed working with and getting to know Hanna, Melissa, and Rick. I have learned skills that will stick with me on my future endeavors. Starting at IWC I had goals to learn more about water related issues and to improve my writing skills, and I was able to accomplish both of those.

Working at IWC was different than any job that I had. Prior to IWC, most of my job experience was working with plants directly. As Special Projects Assistant, I spent a lot of time on a computer doing various projects related to water issues. One of my favorite yet most challenging projects was summarizing scientific articles. I am glad to have gained this skill because it helped me to figure out how to read more challenging literature, process the information and summarize it.

Working at IWC I learned a lot about watersheds and what people are doing to improve Iowa’s waters. Getting a glimpse from behind the scenes on the communication and challenges that goes into making a change in Iowa’s waters was by far my favorite part of my job. I admire the different ways that IWC does to educate, communicate, and organize with other organizations to make a difference. My time at IWC has opened my eyes to the issues and challenges Iowa faces with water. As my experiences grow, I hope to one day make a difference with issues that face water and/or agriculture like IWC.

Now that I have graduated, I will be moving on to work at a greenhouse in North Carolina as an Assistant Greenhouse Grower where I will work with ornamentals. I can only hope to continue to gain new knowledge and experiences to find my niche.

Tianna

 

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Tianna Griffin was the Iowa Water Center’s Special Projects Assistant. She recently graduated with an undergraduate degree in agronomy with emphasis in agroecology and and a minor in horticulture with an emphasis in fruit and vegetable production.

 

Join us at the One Water Summit

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Submitted by Melissa Miller, Associate Director of the Iowa Water Center

The Iowa Water Center would like to invite you to mark your calendars for July 10-12 in the Twin Cities. What’s going on then? The One Water Summit, convened by the US Water Alliance.

The One Water Summit brings together a diverse network of water leaders from across the country for thought-provoking presentations, action-oriented panels, mobile tours, and unparalleled networking opportunities. One Water Summit 2018 is a unique venue to craft innovative solutions, connect with influential leaders across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors, and forge the alliances needed to advance integrated, equitable, and sustainable approaches to water resource management.

We are excited to be part of a core group of “team captains” encouraging our colleagues from Iowa to attend the summit as part of the Iowa delegation, coordinated by the Iowa Agriculture Water Alliance.   The last two years, Iowa has led the largest delegation to the One Water Summit. This year, we hope to bring our largest, most diverse, and engaged delegation yet.

Our delegation is an effective way to facilitate peer exchange, knowledge building, and navigate multiple programming options at the Summit. As delegates, we have the opportunity to join peer-to-peer exchange sessions before, during, and after the Summit to collaborate and dive deeper on the thorny challenges and opportunities in sustainable water management.

All in all, it’s a great way to get more out of the Summit and advance our work locally. The Alliance offers a heavily discounted rate of $425 for One Water delegations (almost half off). Read more about the benefits of the delegations here.

If you’ve never been to the US Water Summit, don’t worry – neither have we! We are thrilled to take part in this event and hope to see our friends from our nationwide network of Water Resources Research Institutes, too. There’s much to be learned from each other (and shared with others) as we work toward better water management.

We hope you’ll consider joining the Iowa delegation as part of the Iowa Water Center team! For more information, including the discount code to register, contact Melissa Miller (millerms@iastate.edu).

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Melissa Miller is the associate director of the Iowa Water Center. She holds a B.S. in community and public health and M.S. in community development with a focus in natural resources management, both from Iowa State University.

Bates awarded CYtation Award

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Hanna Bates, Program Assistant, Iowa Water Center and Jonathan Wickert Senior Vice President and Provost, Iowa State University

On March 22, 2018, Program Assistant Hanna Bates was awarded a CYtation Award from the Iowa State University Professional & Scientific Council at Iowa State University for performing above the call of duty at the Iowa Water Center. She is one of approximately 12 others to receive this award this year.

Meet our new Special Projects Assistant

Hello all,

My name is Tianna Griffin and I am excited to announce that I am Iowa Water Center’s new Special Projects Assistant!

I am pursuing an undergraduate degree in agronomy with an emphasis in agroecology and minoring in horticulture with an emphasis in fruit and vegetable production. I am from Davenport, Iowa, and I have had a strong interest in agriculture since middle school. My interest stemmed from wanting to learn and teach people about the food they ate and how it was grown. I wanted to know more about the beginning stages of growing food, and I knew that there was no better field for me to start with than agriculture. My interest in sustainable practices of water management and soil conservation led me to believe that the Iowa Water Center (IWC) was the perfect place for me to further my knowledge.

I appreciate IWC’s efforts to educate youth and communities on Iowa’s water and to unite Iowa women to have a voice and make a difference in the well-being of Iowa waters and the environment [editor’s note: IWC Associate Director Melissa Miller is a steering committee member for Women for Water]. In the span of my employment, I hope to learn more about Iowa water issues as well as improve my writing and communication skills. I also hope my time with IWC will lead me to improve my ability to work on a team and to get me out of my comfort zone of working independently. Upon graduating I would like to continue working towards the efforts of sustainability related to agricultural practices. Or, I would like to work for a company that produces fruit or vegetable crops in a warmer climate. Eventually, I would like to have my own business where I grow my own fruit and vegetable crops. There are so many options for me because my interests are so broad. I can only hope that I have a spiritually fulfilling and a purposeful career.

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Tianna Griffin is Iowa Water Center’s Special Projects Assistant. She is pursuing an undergraduate degree in agronomy with emphasis in agroecology and minoring in horticulture with an emphasis in fruit and vegetable production.

The 2018 104(g) National Competitive Grants Program is now open

The 104(g) National Competitive Grants program is one of three grant programs administered annually by the Iowa Water Center in coordination with the National Institutes for Water Resources (NIWR).

Due Date: Preproposals are due February 15, 2018
Submit to: State Water Institute or Center (that is us – email to hbates@iastate.edu)
Award maximum and duration: 1-3 years, $250,000 maximum. 1:1 match. NO INDIRECT COSTS.
Scope: Proposals must focus on “water problems and issues of a regional or interstate nature.” Collaboration between organizations and agencies (particularly USGS) are highly encouraged; USGS partnerships receive extra weight in evaluation.

Request for Applications URL

2018 Priorities:

  • Evaluation of innovative approaches to water treatment, infrastructure design, retrofitting, maintenance, management and replacement.
  • Exploration and advancement of our understanding of changes in the quantity and quality of water resources in response to a changing climate, population shifts, and land use changes; including associated economic, environmental, social, and/or infrastructure costs.
  • Development of methods for better estimation of water supply, both surface and groundwater, including estimation of the physical and/or economic supply of water.
  • Development and evaluation of processes and governance mechanisms for integrated surface/ground water management.
  • Evaluation and assessment of the effects of water conservation practices, as well as adoption, penetration and permanence.

Other important information:

Send your preproposal (using Attachment A of the RFA) to the Iowa Water Center by February 15 at 4 p.m., and we send it on to the review committee. If the receipt on the email is past this time, we cannot forward your preproposal.

The previous application system (NIWR.net) will NOT be used in either the preproposal or full proposal submission process.

The preproposal does NOT require a full or detailed budget, only estimate totals (Iowa State University PIs, the preproposal does not require a Goldsheet).

Indirect costs (IDC) are not allowed in the federal portion of the budget, but you can (and should) claim the IDCs you would have gotten if they were allowed as matching funds (see Section VIII.E. of the RFA; let us know if you have questions).

We would be delighted to discuss potential projects as you write your preproposal.

Successful Watershed Management in the Upper Midwest: Getting to Scale

Post written by Melissa Miller, Associate Director for the Iowa Water Center

On November 6 and 7, a group of about 35 stakeholders representing fields of higher education, government, policy, and watershed practitioners gathered in Dubuque, Iowa, for a working session entitled “Successful Watershed Management in the Upper Midwest: Getting to Scale.” Rebecca Power and the North Central Region Water Network organized this event. The meeting was funded by the Environmental Defense Fund and the Walton Family Foundation. Attendees from all over the region contributed, including Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Arkansas; other attendees came from Washington, DC, Harvard, and other nationally-based organizations.

The ultimate product of this working session will be a white paper that explores the necessary elements of watershed management as a scalable unit and the necessary elements of support that make successful watershed management possible. We started with education before conversation, first setting the stage by defining “successful watershed management” and determining what “getting to scale” really meant. A series of lightning talks followed, covering successful watershed management models and highlighting some necessary elements of those examples.

Then, the real work began. We split into small groups, facilitated by Jamie Benning (ISU Extension and Outreach Water Quality Program), Ann Lewandowski (University of Minnesota Water Resources Center), Kate Gibson (Daugherty Food for Water Institute at University of Nebraska-Lincoln), and myself. We discussed the scalable unit for watershed management – the smallest administrative unit that includes key infrastructure, relationship, architecture, and other necessary elements of our theory of change. (We mostly agreed that it’s probably a HUC-12 watershed – except we could all think of some times it isn’t.) Then we identified the “necessary elements,” categorized by human capacity (leadership and learning), social capacity, financial capacity, policy and governance, and technology. We used the same categories for determining those necessary elements that support the scalable unit. On the second day, we expanded on those necessary elements and provided evidence and examples.

There was a lot of information exchanged and ideas generated in a short period. It was exciting to participate and meet people I hadn’t previously worked with in the same space. It was inspiring to cover familiar topics with some familiar faces in a new, comprehensive way. The white paper is expected to be finalized in spring of 2018. We’ll be sure to share it when it’s ready!

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Melissa Miller is the associate director of the Iowa Water Center. She earned a BS in Kinesiology from Iowa State University with an emphasis in Community and Public Health. She is currently pursuing a MS degree in Community Development with an emphasis in Natural Resource Management, also from Iowa State University.

Getting to know your Watershed Pt. 2

Digging up the data on the Iowa Watershed Approach

Before putting together a comprehensive watershed plan, a watershed community has to know the current state of their watershed. Not only this, but if the project involves federal funding, they must also examine how any proposed changes could positively or negatively affect the watershed. This is in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), a federal law enacted in 1970, which requires an assessment of the potential environmental effects of a federal project.

The Iowa Watershed Approach is a federally funded project from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Work conducted with funding from this department must also align with the HUDs standards for NEPA review and compliance found in 2 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Part 58. This is to ensure that no substantial, unwarranted harm is caused to a community, ecological habitat, or to a historic site.

Environmental assessments will occur in two phases for the Iowa Watershed Approach: a programmatic review of potential environmental impacts, and then a site-specific assessment at specific locations before starting a conservation implementation project.

What are these assessments looking at?

Phase one assessment will examine the items listed below. Some of them cannot be resolved until a specific site has been identified, thus the Phase 2 site-specific assessment. Others are not carried forward in the Phase 2 analysis because the project – overall and at the site-specific level – is in compliance.

  • Air Quality
  • Coastal Zone Management
  • Environmental Justice
  • Explosive and Flammable Operations
  • Noise
  • Water Quality (Sole-source aquifers)
  • Wild and Scenic Rivers
  • Airport Hazards
  • Contamination and Toxic Substances
  • Endangered Species
  • Farmland Protection
  • Floodplain Management
  • Historic Preservation
  • Wetland Protection

Why have all of these rules and regulations?

Because it is the responsible thing to do. This project is making changes to the landscape, and although all the proposed changes are identified as conservation practices, project partners still have to be responsible stewards of the land by evaluating potential environmental impacts and the cumulative effects they may have over time on our environment.

What has been done so far?

Right now, environmental assessments are being drafted for the nine watersheds identified for the Iowa Watershed Approach. They will be available for a public review/comment period, and then the assessments will be approved and adopted by the County Board of Supervisors for each watershed. The assessment will then be available as a public document.

What is next?

After an environmental assessment becomes a public document, the information will be incorporated into a watershed plan with other information contributed by public institutions in Iowa to identify areas for specific conservation projects. Once a specific site has been identified, a more-focused environmental review of the subject site will be initiated. This review is developed out of issues and concerns identified in the Phase 1 environmental assessment. Although it may seem like a long process, this is to prevent any unintended consequences or negative impact on the land, animals, or people in the future.

This is a multi-part series exploring the process of how Watershed Management Authorities and other entities are organizing and making a positive difference in Iowa through the Iowa Watershed Approach.

Start Here: Pt. 1 Working with your Watershed Partners

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Hanna Bates is the Program Assistant at the Iowa Water Center. She has a MS in Sociology and Sustainable Agriculture from Iowa State University. She is also an alumna of the University of Iowa for her undergraduate degree.