Annual National Institutes for Water Resources Meeting & a Trip to Capitol Hill

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The 2019 Annual NIWR Meeting was an opportunity for all 54 Water Resource Research Institutes to get together and share success stories, discuss the program's 10-year vision, meet with state representatives on Capitol Hill, and work together to further advance the vision and mission of NIWR. This meeting allows the Institutes to collaborate to ensure they continue to address the nation's most pressing water resources issues through research, shared information and technology, and developing a diverse workforce.

For over 50 years, the Water Resources Research Act (WRRA) Program has invested in university-based, water-related research; information and technology transfer; and workforce development. To continue using these investments to resolve water issues across all scales, WRRA Program Director Earl Green recently presented the WRRA Program's 10-year vision to guide activities and investments needed to sustainably protect and manage our nation's water resources. The vision includes 7 Focus Areas: (1) Water Scarcity and Availability; (2)Water-Related Hazards and Climate Change; (3) Water Quality and Human Health; (4)Water Policy, Planning, and Socioeconomics; (5) Watershed and Ecosystem Function; (6)Water Technology Innovation; and (7) Workforce Development and Literacy.

The goal of the 10-year vision is to identify priority research, outreach, engagement, and education strategies leading to reliable, sustainable supplies of quality water in order to support sustainable economic development, environmental health, water-related hazard resilience, and social equity and well-being.

Following the meeting, Ohio WRC Co-Director Linda Weavers (right) and Graduate Administrative Assistant Matt Young (left) visited Capitol Hill. There they met with staffers for Senators Brown and Portman, as well as, Representatives Balderson, Stivers, Joyce, and Johnson and discussed Ohio WRC research and the impact of Ohio WRC activities to Ohio's water stakeholders.