IWConf17 presentation applications are due (really) soon

If you’ve been putting off submitting an application to present at the 2017 Iowa Water Conference, put it off no longer – applications are due Sunday night (Aug 14) at 11:59 p.m. The IWConf17 planning committee will review in the weeks following as the “first cut” for determining the 2017 conference agenda.

(It’s okay if you wait until Sunday to submit. It’s not procrastination. You’re busy. It’s prioritization.)

Wondering if you should submit an application? Do you answer yes to any of the following questions?

-Do you have a story to tell about watershed successes?

-Are you looking for partners for a current or new project?

-Do you have the latest tool in your water management field with proven results?

-Have you figured out a way to engage new sectors of populations in water-related activities or conversations?

From the call for applications:

This year’s theme, “Watershed Management: Partnerships for Progress,” promotes water resource management from a watershed perspective, with a particular emphasis on the partnerships necessary to accomplish goals. Improving water management on a watershed scale is a complex undertaking due to the variety and sheer number of stakeholders. Watersheds do not adhere to political jurisdictions; they often cross borders of different cities of town, counties, and in some cases, states. The 11th Annual Iowa
Water Conference looks for presentations to tell stories of successes and lessons learned through forged partnerships while providing updates on the latest technical approaches to water management from a variety of perspectives.
One final thing to note – conference goers have requested to hear more stories of successful implementation- a translation of research/development into practice. They want to come away with an idea of how your presentation’s focus fits into their lives. The committee will be looking at applications through that lens this year.
Instructions for submitting are in the call for applications. As usual, if you have questions – let us know.

From the IWC Director: Water Quality – Why Such a Challenge?

On July 26, IWC Director Rick Cruse presented to about 150 attendees at the Arkansas Water Resources Center’s Annual Conference. The theme of the conference was “Nutrients, Water Quality and Harmful Algal Blooms.” Dr. Cruse spoke during the opening general session in a presentation entitled “Water Quality – Why Such a Challenge?” The following is a summary of what he told our downstream friends in Arkansas.

Why is water quality such a challenge?  A few simple concepts help recognize why this challenge exists.

We know that water added to a pail filled water will be lost.

We know that complex systems are more difficult to understand and manage than simple ones.

We also know that activities favoring economics of an individual may not favor natural resources or the general population.

And finally, to be a champion one must be willing to identify a goal and be committed to meet that goal.

Transposing these concepts to agriculture is quite simple.  Adding nutrients to a landscape that has had repeated nutrient additions and does not have the capacity to hold additional nutrients will likely lose those nutrients as a full pail loses water added to it.  Managing nutrients in agricultural systems is incredibly complex; elements of this complex system range from policy influencing human management choices to highly variable weather systems.

Understanding these elements independently is difficult, understanding how they interact is incredibly challenging.  Management practices that favor maximum short term economic returns require short term management choices; managing natural resources such as water requires a long term vision.  Short term profit motives seldom support long term water quality goals.

Finally, if we want improved water quality, we must make water quality a committed goal and not just an add-on to a system that we know to be very leaky.

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.

Reflections on the 2016 Iowa Water Conference

It’s been a week since the opening of the 2016 Iowa Water Conference, one of the most highly attended events in its ten year history. We’ve been busy tying up loose ends, getting presentations posted on the event page, and even catching a few breaths here and there. A week removed seems like a good time to record some observations about this year’s conference as we look forward to 2017 (yes, already!).

You can’t control the weather. We had the conference three weeks later this year to avoid the inevitable early March “in like a lion” happenings. Mother Nature pretty much laughed in our faces, since the weather at the beginning of March was gorgeous, and the storm Wednesday night prevented several attendees and three speakers from making it to Thursday’s activities. (Absolutely enormous thank you to ISU Brent Pringnitz for setting these speakers up to present remotely in an unbelievably short turnaround period.)

Water is kind of a big deal. We had almost 500 people attend the water conference this year. That’s 100 more than last year. We had more posters, more exhibitors. People care about water so much that they will take two days out of their busy schedules to come learn and talk about it with people they may or may not know. The opening plenary even got media coverage on WHO TV.

The Iowa Water Conference shouldn’t be the only time we collaborate. We’ve received feedback from many people who want to make sure the cross-pollination that the Water Conference fosters stays at the forefront. One way to do that is to plan or attend local conferences/meetings/seminars on more specific interests (like tomorrow’s IGWA meeting in Newton). If you need help planning, let us know – we can help steer you in the right direction. If you’re looking for events, sign up for our newsletter. If you have an event, send it to us and we’ll help promote it.

This is YOUR conference. We made quite a few changes to this year’s conference to reflect the comments left in the evaluations from last year, and from what we can tell, they worked (for the most part). Please continue to send us your ideas throughout the year. We’ll have an open call for presentations during the summer months; you’ll find the announcement on this blog, our newsletter and Facebook and Twitter. We have an amazing core committee of conference planners, but can always use more ideas and voices. If you  or your organization might want to be on our list of planning partners, give us a call.

There is a lot more we can say, but we’ll leave it at that for now. What were your takeaways from the 2016 Iowa Water Conference?

Waxing poetic about working together (and NIWR)

In the water world, we talk a lot about working together. We all live in a watershed. The importance of partnerships. Work with your upstream neighbor to improve life downstream.

Sometimes, all it is, is talk. We say we want to work together, but it doesn’t happen, for whatever reason – maybe we can’t get together, we get busy with other things, we can’t agree on priorities. But the reason we talk about working together in water is because we do all live in a watershed. Working with your upstream neighbor DOES improve life downstream. Partnerships aren’t only important, they’re vital to success, and when we work together, impactful things happen.

Last week, 49 of the 54 Water Resources Research Institutes got together for the annual director’s meeting. The Virginia Water Resources Research Center planned the meeting this year (we had the honor last year) and for three days, we worked together.

A few droplets that represent the bigger “working together” stream:

-49 out of 54 WRRIs were in attendance. The meeting was in Washington, DC. The Virgin Islands made it. Alaska made it. Even Guam made it. (Actually, Guam director Shahram Khosrowpanah is a valued member of the NIWR board.) Distance didn’t preclude the Institutes from getting together.

-We heard from federal representatives that told us water resources research is headed toward the funding of collaborative, interdisciplinary research – multifaceted projects that address water resources not just from a technical perspective but also from a human dimension perspective. Water resources management IS the proverbial Big Picture. Research will treat it as such.

-Over a period of 24 hours, the Iowa, Illinois, and Tennessee Institutes went from chatting  over a few sandwiches about potentially working on a regional effort to planning, identifying, and putting into action a plan to work with USGS Water Science Centers in our state and region to focus on making a difference in the Mississippi River basin. (More on that as it develops.) All three states have different priorities and run their Institutes a little differently, but we all have one goal.

This meeting was, and always is, a short period of time in which we focus on what it means to work together. Iowans, you have an opportunity to do the same thing next month at the Iowa Water Conference. Use the conference to not only learn about the latest in water management in Iowa, but to find people and organizations with whom you can work together. Work with your upstream neighbor; you WILL improve downstream. Partnerships ARE important. And for goodness sake, we all live in a watershed!

 

 

 

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.

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.