What You Need to Know about the Upcoming AWRC Conference

This year’s speakers are lined up and the program is finalized for the 2019 Arkansas Water Resources Center annual water conference. The theme is “Water Management and Nutrient Recovery”, and the conference will be held on July 30 and 31 at the Fayetteville Town Center.

The Program:

This year’s conference aims to facilitate robust conversation about current water resource challenges, as well as discuss potential paths forward to address these challenges.

The keynote session will set the stage for day one of the conference where the focus is on nutrient recovery from wastewater and agricultural sources. “The old way of doing things worked fine for a long time, but we now need to change how we think about water and nutrients in waste streams,” says keynote speaker Michael Watts, Water Technology Leader at Garver. 

Throughout the day, we will hear from water treatment professionals, industry representatives, extension agents, researchers, and government agency personnel to learn about the complexity of the challenges and look forward to opportunities for water-quality improvement and cost saving opportunities for municipalities and agricultural producers.

On day two, we will shift gears and hear all about the Mississippi Alluvial Plain (MAP). The U.S. Geological Survey began an intensive study of the MAP a few years ago and they will share some exciting and valuable findings at our conference.

To wrap up day two, we will cover current changes to the Clean Water Act and Arkansas regulations that have an impact on water quality and water availability in Arkansas and the region. 

Poster Sessions:

Poster sessions will take place after lunch on both days of the conference. Poster presentations on day one will relate to wastewater management and nutrient recovery. Poster sessions on day two will cover a range of other valuable water resource topics. There will also be student poster competitions, for undergraduate and graduate students separately. Winners will receive an Amazon Gift Card.

Bye-bye Paper, Hello App!:

To do our small part toward sustainable activities, we will go as paperless as possible this year! Therefore, we have created a conference app for mobile download and available online.

To encourage our attendees to download the app, everyone who does will be automatically entered into a drawing to win one of two $100 Visa Gift Cards, courtesy of one of our sponsors, the Arkansas Chapter of the American Water Resources Association (AR-AWRA)!

Sponsor and Exhibitor Opportunities:

We welcome the support of new sponsors and we still have room for exhibitors! Sponsors help to keep conference registration fees low for regular attendees and students, and allows greater attendance and participation than might otherwise be possible.

Thanks to our current conference sponsors and exhibitors:

AR-AWRA; Beaver Water District; Buffalo River Watershed Alliance; Beaver Watershed Alliance; and Illinois River Watershed Partnership.

Registration:

Register online now by going to https://commerce.uark.edu/awrc/. Registration will close on July 24.

Venue:

The conference will be held at the Fayetteville Town Center. This venue is at the historic downtown square in Fayetteville, near the University of Arkansas campus and surrounded by the beautiful Ozark Mountains.

Hotel:

If you’re coming from out of town, you can reserve a room at the Chancellor Hotel, just one block away from the Town Center. We have a room block for conference attendees to book at the government rate of $94 per night. Hurry, you must make your reservation by June 29!

Questions?:

Visit our website for more details, or contact Erin Scott at erins@uark.edu or 479-502-9854.

A previous version said poster winners will receive a Visa Gift Card; this has been changed to Amazon Gift Card.