Highlights from the upcoming WaTER Conference

The sixth biennial OU International WaTER Conference builds on the theme:

Water Quality, Quantity and Equity: Paths to Security

The Conference will explore global water security from many angles and perspectives. This year's Conference features (by the numbers) -

• Six (6) outstanding keynote speakers - John Cherry, Soroosh Sorooshian, Jenna Davis, Leila Harris, John Butterworth, and Kyle Harper
• Twenty-six (26) breakout sessions
• Sixteen (16) oral presentations on "Hydrology and Water Security"
• Eighteen (18) poster presentations on various aspects of water security, and 
• Ten (10) members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church Children's Choir for our Banquet entertainment.

Household WASH systems will be explored in an interactive game on Tuesday of the Conference - Sessions 15 and 18.

The completed, updated session schedule can be found on the Conference web page.

A few special sessions are highlighted here:

Monday - Sessions 4 and 8: Global Water Issues in the U.S. and Abroad: Similar yet Distinct

• Dr. Jason Vogel (Oklahoma Water Survey) leads a session in which presenters compare water challenges in a developing country with a similar challenge in the U.S. 
• Environmental flows - India and Oklahoma
• Surface water quality improvement - Kenya and Oklahoma
• Working with youth - Bolivia and Oklahoma

Tuesday - Sessions 15 and 18: Follow the Systems Road: A Game, Discussion and Presentations on WASH Systems

• Hosted by the Hilton Foundation, Stanford University, IRC-WASH, and Milennium Water Alliance
• Includes both a fun and interactive game (featuring music from the Wizard of Oz) to engage with the complexity of WASH. Presentations and discussions will focus on WASH systems components, practical on-the-ground examples of systems work and the role of partnerships in systems work. 

Tuesday - Session 26: Peace Corps Session with Returned Peace Corps Volunteers (RPCVs)

• Volunteers reflect on their experiences abroad while answering questions about the mission and excitement of Peace Corps service

Education with youth in schools in Bolivia will be highlighted in Session 8.

In-stream flows - measurement and monitoring - will be discussed in Session 4.

Online registration closes on September 11. 

Participants may register onsite at the NCED Conference Center and Hotel.

Short courses and a WASH systems game - Conference 2019

Go to WaTER Conference page to register.

During our International WaTER Conference in the Fall (Sep 16-17, 2019), participants are invited to join in a game exercise during the Conference, and two short courses immediately following the Conference. These are described below:

"FOLLOW THE SYSTEMS ROAD" – A GAME, DISCUSSIONS AND PRESENTATIONS OF WASH SYSTEMS

 Hosted by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation and led by Stanford University, IRC WASH and the Millennium Water Alliance

This session will include both a fun and interactive game (featuring music from the Wizard of Oz) to engage with the complexity of WASH. Presentations and discussions will focus on WASH systems components, practical on-the-ground examples of systems work and the role of partnerships in systems work.  We hope you will join us for this lively session about WASH systems work! 

NOTE: This session is limited to 40 participants and if you sign up we ask that you commit to attend the full session in order to make the game a success for all participants. 

COST:               No additional charge (included in Conference registration)

WHEN:            Tue., Sept 17, 9:50 am-12:20 pm

WHERE:          Conference Hall (NCED), Norman OK

Water supply is a complex process that involves the understanding of human behavior.

Post-Conference Short Courses (Wednesday, Sep 18):

SAFE AND SUSTAINABLE WELL CONSTRUCTION

Instructor:  Stephen Schneider (NGWA)

Groundwater is perhaps the most important source of drinking water for many developing countries. The safe and sustainable extraction of groundwater via borehole wells is therefore a vital component of development work.  This course provides practitioners with basic knowledge required to ensure that wells are constructed properly so that their water supply can be safe and flowing for future generations. Topics covered in this full-day course include: water sampling protocol, proper sealing of the annulus, well siting, documentation, well designs, disinfection, yield testing, and final well completion. Participants will be given presentations, demonstrations and will gain some hands-on experience.

COST:              $50 - includes lunch

WHEN:            Wed., Sept 18, 8:00 am-5:30 pm

WHERE:          Fears Lab, 303 Chesapeake St., Norman, OK

The sustainable construction of water wells is a necessary component of global human development in many rural areas.

REMOTE SENSING HYDROLOGY: CAPACITY BUILDING FOR EMERGING REGIONS

 Instructors:  Dr. Yang Hong and HWS faculty

The purpose of this workshop is to educate the participants and make them better understand how to use remote sensing data to forecast water and water-related hazards such as flooding and droughts. The Remote Sensing Hydrology workshop will be conducted by OU’s Hydrometeorology and Remote Sensing Laboratory (HyDROS) and Hydrology and Water Security (HWS) program in collaboration with other departments which specialized in transdisciplinary research of remote sensing hydrology at the nexus of water, weather, and climate. The workshop will supply participants with information about radar and satellite remote sensing on hydrology and water security study, and capacity building in emerging regions. HyDROS will apply its more than 12 years of experience working with NASA-SERVIR and USAID in Africa, Asia and South America capacity building efforts to mitigate the water and water-related hazards. This workshop will include hands-on instruction on retrieval and using remote sensing data to conduct hydrological modeling at local, regional and global scales to predict natural hazards and disaster risk reduction.

COST:              $50 - includes lunch

WHEN:            Wed., Sept 18, 8:00 am-5:30 pm

WHERE:          National Weather Center, Norman, OK

The understanding of hydrology and water security can be greatly enhanced using the tools of remote sensing.

Go to WaTER Conference page to register.

Register now for early bird rates - OU International Water Conference

To get early bird rates, register for the Conference by July 29!

The theme of this year's International WaTER Conference is "Quest for Water Security: Quantity, Quality and Equity". Invited speakers and 70-80 presentations will tackle the many water challenges that are shared by both developed and developing nations.

Recent flooding in Mozambique and in Nebraska, USA (March 2019), are painful reminders of shared vulnerabilities around water in a changing climate.

The sixth biennial OU International Water Conference will feature a diverse group of keynote speakers. 

Soroosh Sorooshian is a Distinguished Professor at UC-Irvine whose work encompasses many aspects of hydrometeorology, water resources systems, climate studies and application of remote sensing to earth science problems. He is a member of the US National Academy of Engineering (NAE).

Jenna Davis of is co-founder and faculty lead of the Water, Health & Development program at Stanford University. Her research and teaching is focused at the interface of engineered water supply and sanitation systems and their users, particularly in developing countries. She has conducted field research in more than 20 countries, including most recently Zambia, Bangladesh, and Uganda.

John Butterworth of IRC will be speaking about self-supply of water and sanitation. He will also co-chair a session that is concerned with broader WASH systems, functionality, and monitoring.

Leila Harris is Professor at the Institute for Resources Environment and Sustainability (IRES) and the Institute for Gender, Race, Sexuality and Social Justice (GRSJ) at the University of British Columbia. Her current research focuses on the intersection of environmental issues and inequality / social difference, and water governance challenges in Canadian First Nations, Cape Town, South Africa and Accra, Ghana. 

John Cherry is a Distinguished Professor Emeritus from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada and co-author of the classic book, Groundwater, with Alan Freeze. John will describe his latest eBooks project that will provide digital resources to all water-sanitation practitioners and will be a major resource of groundwater knowledge for those who work in developing nations. 

Kyle Harper is an historian of the classical world and the Senior Vice President and Provost at his alma mater, the University of Oklahoma. Kyle has recently published a book The Fate of Rome: Climate, Disease, and the End of an Empire. His keynote address to the Conference will describe the catastrophic role that climate change and infectious diseases played in the collapse of Rome’s power. 

Rural self-supply is one of the topics of water security that will be discussed.

Go to Conference page for more information and to register!

Remember - rates go up after July 29.