2022 Arkansas Water Resources and Watersheds Conference: Post Conference Wrap-Up
The Arkansas Water Resources Center partnered with the Beaver Watershed Alliance, the Arkansas Forests and Drinking Water Collaborative, and the Arkansas Department of Agriculture Forestry Division to host the 2022 Arkansas Water Resources and Watersheds Conference. The event took place on July 13 -14 at the Don Tyson Center for Agricultural Sciences in Fayetteville Arkansas.
The annual AWRC conference has long been known for bringing together a diverse audience from across Arkansas to learn and share about current water resource challenges in the state, as well as recent successes and emerging opportunities.
Around 150 people attended the conference. Everyone was excited about the opportunity to get together again after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Attendees included researchers, municipalities, utilities, researchers, watershed organizations and other non-profits, government agencies, and consulting firms.
The conference began with a session organized by the AWRC on harmful algal blooms, including occurrence and frequency in Arkansas and nationwide, potential drivers, predictive indicators, and mitigation strategies.
The Arkansas Forests and Drinking Water Collaborative and Arkansas Department of Agriculture Forestry Division hosted a panel discussion and series of talks on the topic of source water protection, bringing together water utilities professionals and scientists from across the state.
Beaver Watershed Alliance continued the discussion of source water protection in a session highlighting success stories, such as stream restorations and low-head dam removals. Opportunities for funding and technical assistance available to conservation-minded landowners in the state were also the focus of several presentations.
The conference wrapped up with a field trip that included visits to a University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture riparian forestry establishment demonstration site, a low-impact development design parking lot at the Mount Kessler Regional Park, and a large-scale stream restoration project on the West Fork of the White River constructed by the Watershed Conservation Resource Center.
The conference also included a poster session featuring the work of graduate and undergraduate students, as well as participants in the Ecosystems Services Research Experience for Undergraduates (EcoREU) program.
The AWRC and its co-hosts would like to thank exhibitors and sponsors, including In Situ, Beaver Water District, and Central Arkansas Water. The annual conference is made possible through the AWRC’s 104(b) base grant funding, administered by the United States Geologic Survey.
Article Written and Provided by Lillie Haddock.
