Reflecting and Making Plans
President's Message, January 2019
THE STRIKING OF the clock at midnight, December 31, 2018 continued the long time tradition of reflecting on the past year and making plans for 2019. The American Water Resources Association (AWRA) has much to be thankful for as we look back on 55 years of accomplishments led by many of the people in the picture.
Like all of the presidents before me the first thank you goes to all of you, our members and IMPACT readers. Your skills, collegiality, passion and expertise make AWRA an exceptional organization. The Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) continues to set the standard for peer reviewed journals in our field and our impact factor (reach and citations) leads the field. The 2018 Annual and Specialty conferences all delivered exceptional programs and opportunities to extend community, conversations and connections.
Immediate Past President Brenda Bateman and former Executive Vice-President Ken Reid also deserve special thanks for navigating the huge transitions of 2018. Those efforts will come to fruition in 2019. In addition to setting the stage for a new executive to take the helm in 2019, we all expect to enjoy a new website and an outstanding line-up of educational webinars, specialty conferences, JAWRA and IMPACT issues, and more, topped off by the 2019 Annual Conference, November 3-7, in Salt Lake City. The conference committee has set their sights on this being the best Annual Conference yet.
This IMPACT issue on State Water Plans is particularly exciting to me as I have worked on the last four California State Water Plan Updates and my introduction to AWRA was through this work. A companion piece to this IMPACT Issue, just issued in November, is AWRA’s latest publication: “State Water Plans, Monographs from 17 States.” This document, developed under the leadership of Brenda Bateman (Oregon) and Scott Kudlas (Virginia), is now available for a short time, for free download from the AWRA website.
Also expect to see AWRA double down on promoting Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) as a critical tool for the challenges facing the water world in the coming decades. While some felt it had become a victim of “management de jour,” IWRM will be an essential element of the response to climate change. Every water resource professional should be engaged and it is not too late to register for the March 23-27 specialty conference, Setting Conditions for the Success of IWRM, to be held in Omaha. Conference co-chairs Amy Zoller and Mike Antos, and Technical Chair Michael Campana, are all recognized as best of class in the IWRM field and are planning an interactive conference accompanied by a spectacular field trip to view Nebraska’s Sandhill Cranes.
The multi-disciplinary theme will continue with the Summer Specialty Conference, Improving Water Infrastructure Through Resilient Adaptation, which will be June 16-19, in Sparks (Reno) Nevada, and an International Specialty Conference on Water Security, New Technology, and Institutions to be held jointly with the Center for Water Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, China, September 16-18, 2019.
All of the above, and even more, are in store for 2019 as we welcome a new executive vice president. We expect to also continue collaborations with sister organizations and jointly explore more ways to serve AWRA members.
Lisa Beutler is the 2019 president of AWRA. Contact: [email protected].
Photo below: Several decades of past association presidents gather at the 2018 Annual Conference in Baltimore to help honor our retiring, long-time (37 years) Executive Vice President Ken Reid (mid-center in dark gray jacket).
