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2010 Maine Water Conference
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Augusta Civic Center, Augusta, Maine
Following is the theme session list for the 2010 Maine Water Conference.
Session Titles
Session I
Providing Safe Drinking Water in Uncertain Times
Chair: Andy Tolman,Maine CDC Drinking Water Program
Description: We have learned a lot in the past twenty years, and much of it has made the task of providing safe and reliable drinking water more challenging. In this session, talks are invited that discuss:
- Progress in and obstacles to protecting drinking water sources
- Storm water management and drinking water: risks and opportunities.
- Safety and emergency preparedness for water systems
- The influence of climatic variability on water systems: a case for water efficiency and no regrets planning
- Conflicts between drinking water and recreational and ecosystem uses of aquifers and surface waters.
- Quantifying the threats of emerging contaminants, like PPCP’s and prions, to drinking water, and strategies for coping with these new issues.
All these challenges require that water systems and their partners have strong technical capacity and the ability to cope with the unexpected, to be ‘resilient’ in the face of both slow and quickly developing emergencies.
Session II
Historical and Future Extreme Hydrologic Events in Maine
Chairs: Robert M. Lent, Glenn Hodgkins, USGS, Augusta, ME
Description: Maine has a long history of extreme hydrologic events, including major floods in 1936, 1987, and 2008, and droughts in the 1960’s and early 2000’s. There is a considerable amount known about these historical events and there is some information available on future projected events. What do historical records tell us about the frequency and severity of floods and droughts in Maine? Have they changed over time? What can we say about the potential for future floods and droughts and what methods and models can we use to predict them? How much uncertainty is associated with the predictions? What have been the impacts of historical extreme events and what will be the impacts of future extreme events? This Maine Water Conference session will attempt to answer many of these questions.
Session III
From urban streams to pristine sites: prioritizing research, funding, conservation
Chair: TBA
Description: Some states have recently allocated funding traditionally used for restoring impaired sites to conserve “high quality” waters. How does funding drive actions for watershed management? And, how do we find resources to protect pristine areas? For this session, we are soliciting abstracts that describe projects ranging from preservation and conservation to restoration and management of freshwater resources. Topics of interest include stormwater runoff, low-impact development, urban stream impairment, determining pollutant reductions, invasive aquatic plants, shoreland zoning and vernal pool conservation efforts, threats (such as non-point source pollution) to seemingly pristine sites, and strategies for conservation of unimpaired sites. Talks that focus on the science supporting restoration and conservation across the spectrum from impaired to ’pristine’ sites and/or management and policy implications of prioritization of limited resources for such projects will be considered.
Session IV
Regional partnerships for Watershed Planning
Chair: Brenda Zollitsch and David Ladd
Description: Water resource management on a watershed scale extends across municipal, state, and agency boundaries. For successful resource management on this scale, partnerships and collaboration among stakeholders including agencies, volunteer groups, government, conservation groups, and the private sector are a necessity. This session requests abstracts highlighting the successes and challenges of such collaborative partnerships as they undertake watershed planning projects. Talks describing specific projects as well as more general frameworks or strategic goals for successful planning and implementation are welcomed. Novel approaches to consensus building and tools for working across broader regions are also of interest.
Session V
Legislative roundtable
Chair: TBA
Description: Abstracts are not requested for this session; it is a roundtable discussion. This session will discuss water-related issues that are currently or may potentially be before the state legislature in 2010. The session will also allow for discussion of previously-enacted legislation in the context of success stories and future directions.
Session VI
Maine Water Quality Data: Overview, Availability, Challenges
Chair: Linda Bacon, Maine DEP
Description: Access to Maine water quality data is much easier now than it was a decade ago. Knowing what information is available is the first step to mining such datasets. This session should include (1) an overview of datasets, (2) insights from one or two dataset managers; (3) insights from student or citizen users of such data, followed by (4) a panel discussion focusing on the challenges and limitations of using these resources. Input is welcomed at multiple levels. Please provide descriptions and access information for publicly accessible dataset(s) you'd like included on a distribution list. Presentation abstracts should focus on one of the elements described above. Potential panel members are asked to provide a brief overview of their experience working with these data.
Session VII
Public outreach and education: communicating water resources and environmental information
Chair: Catherine Schmitt, Maine Sea Grant
Description: Information transfer is a two-way street. How do you know if the information you are providing is reaching the right audience? What does "engagement" mean, and what is the right level of engagement for your research or management issue? This session seeks presentations on the practice and implementation of engagement methods and communication tools (e.g., cafe scientifiques, market research, socioeconomic studies, community visioning, needs assessments). We hope to provide results of communication and education research as well as examples of successful programs and projects in a dynamic format. Interested presenters are encouraged to contact the session chair to discuss their ideas before submitting an abstract.
Session VIII
State of the Maine Environment
Chair: Sarah J. Nelson, University of Maine Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Environmental and Watershed Research
Description: This session will accept abstracts that cover science and research regarding any aspect of the Maine Environment, with a particular focus on freshwater resources. Examples of topics that will be considered are those that deal with hydrology, geochemistry, contaminants and toxicology, and freshwater biology, as well as land-water interactions. The session title and focus are subject to change after abstract review.
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