The annual Iowa Water Conference will be held next month. This year’s event will take place in the Iowa Great Lakes. Laura Frescoln, Research Administrator for the Iowa Water Center at Iowa State University, coordinates the event each year.
““This conference brings together water professionals from many sectors including researchers, students, state agencies like the Iowa Department of Ag and Land Stewardship, the Iowa DNR, NRCS, urban and rural planners, conservation districts and watershed planners.”
Frescoln says the two-day conference is very intensive.
“This year our focus areas are integrating watershed and agricultural solutions, water quality and public health, water quantity which is flood and drought resilience, nature based and green infrastructure for all communities, and then the two that are more key to the Iowa Great Lakes Region is the water recreation, tourism and economic vitality, and the last focus area is fisheries, wildlife and aquatic eco system health.”
The Iowa Water Conference itself will be held September 16th and 17th but will kick off actually September 15th.
““We have a pre conference tour the day before that we take buses and we tour some water quality and quantity sites around the area and we’re going to have a reception at the Iowa Lakeside Lab. That’s always a fun thing to kick off the conference. People can sign up by going to iowawatercenter.org.”
The deadline to sign up is September 4th. Special rates are available for students.
Frescoln adds this year marks the 20th year for the conference, adding it’s no coincidence this year’s event is being held in the Iowa Great Lakes.
“I think there’s no better place to look back on the successes for water challenges which some are highlighted right here in the Iowa Great Lakes Region, and there’s no better place to be inspired for our future challenges.”
She says 350 to 400 people typically attend the conference each year, but she’s expecting even a larger turnout this year.
