The Groundwater Foundation’s Library of Free Educational Webinars, Available On-Demand
Click on the webinar title for a description, presenter information, length, and link to view.
Presenter: Ann Bleed, CDR Associates
Ann Bleed, Ph.D., P.E. is a Senior Program Manager with CDR Associates, a facilitation and mediation firm in Boulder, CO and is teaching graduate courses at the University of Nebraska in water policy and law and integrated resources management. For over 20 years Ann worked at the State of Nebraska Department of Natural Resources, first as the State Hydrologist, overseeing complex technical aspects of water administration and serving as the State’s examiner in water rights hearings, then as Deputy Director and Director of the Department. She was a representative of the State of Nebraska on the negotiating teams that settled two U.S. Supreme Court interstate water allocation lawsuits, Nebraska v. Wyoming and Kansas v. Nebraska, and helped develop the Platte River Recovery and Implementation Program. She also helped facilitate the Water Policy Task force that wrote a new comprehensive integrated surface water and ground water law for the State of Nebraska. Ann has a Ph.D. in ecology, an M.S. in systems engineering and a P.E. in civil engineering.
Overview: The physical characteristics of surface water systems and groundwater systems are vastly different. As a result, the history of people’s understanding, use, management policies and administration of these systems has also been different. Although many ancient civilizations understood, used, managed and allocated the use of surface water, only in the last hundred years have people made extensive use of groundwater and developed policies and administration to allocate its use. Even more recent is the understanding that surface water and groundwater are hydrologically connected and need to be managed and administered in an integrative fashion. Based on her more than twenty years of experience as State Hydrologist and then Director of the State of Nebraska Department of Natural Resources, Bleed will describe how the physical differences in the two systems have created many challenges, but also provide tremendous opportunities, for the integrated allocation and management of hydrologically connected surface water and groundwater.
Length: 1 hour
Presenter: Ed Means, Malcolm Pirnie, Inc.
Overview: This webinar will provide an overview of a project sponsored by the Water Research Foundation that developed guidance and tools to help effectively communicate the value of water. The project defined the interests of utility leaders, customers, special interest groups, elected and appointed officials, and other stakeholders and placed those interests in the context of a utility-specific Communications Plan and a model for creating such a plan. This research has reinforced that utilities can communicate the value of water by understanding their stakeholders’ needs and perceptions, thoughtfully defining the utility brand to underscore these values, communicating all the utility’s activities in the context of the brand, and relentlessly communicating that brand through targeted media. Collectively, this will positively influence the perceptions of utility stakeholders and enhance their service experience, in turn building support for the utility and helping ensure that appropriate public investments are made. Through this process, stakeholders will grow to appreciate the value of the product (water) as well as the service. This Water Research Foundation project includes a comprehensive literature review related to utility communications strategies, step-by-step procedures for developing plans to communicate the value of water and a Communications Toolkit to assist with communicating the value of water.
Length: 1 hour 26 minutes
Presenter: Dana Kolpin, Research Hydrologist, U.S. Geological Survey
Dana Kolpin is a research hydrologist for the U.S. Geological Survey in Iowa City, IA. He received his B.S. from Iowa State University and his M.S. from the University of Iowa (both in geology). His research interests include the fate and transport of pesticides, pharmaceuticals, and other emerging contaminants in the environment. He has published over 100 papers and reports on environmental contaminants. He has been the project chief of the USGS Toxic Program’s Emerging Contaminants Project since its inception in 1998.
Overview: Research is documenting with increasing frequency that many emerging contaminants such as pharmaceuticals, hormones, and fragrances that have not historically been considered as environmental contaminants are present across the world. These emerging contaminants are commonly detected in municipal, agricultural, and industrial wastewater sources. Since 1998, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) Emerging Contaminants Project has been conducting “source to receptor” research on this rapidly advancing topic. The primary objectives of this project are to 1) develop the analytical tools required for detecting ECs in the environment, 2) document the environmental occurrence and concentration of ECs, 3) characterize contaminant sources and their potential pathways into the environment, 4) determine processes and factors that affect the transport and fate of ECs, and 5) assess the potential deleterious effects of ECs and complex mixtures of ECs on aquatic and terrestrial organisms. To carry out these research objectives, an interdisciplinary team of scientists has been assembled. A range of research activities by the Emerging Contaminants Project will be highlighted during this presentation.
Length: 1 hour
Presenters: John Paquin, Kalamazoo, MI; Janine Reed, Sequim-Dungeness, WA; and Gabrielle Belfit, Barnstable County (Cape Cod), MA Groundwater Guardian teams
Overview: Learn how Groundwater Guardian teams from across the U.S. are educating adults about groundwater and related resources in their community. The webinar will present case studies of innovative and successful adult education programs, including using movie trailers to share wellhead protection information, providing training for septic system owners, and targeting education efforts at tourists and regional municipal officials.
Length: 1 hour
Geology As We Know It - Or Do We? Discoveries In 'Known' Geologic Terrains Using Airborne Geophysics
Presenters: James C. Cannia, Hydrologist, US Geological Survey, Mitchell, NE and Jared D. Abraham, Geophysicist, US Geological Survey, Denver, CO
Overview: Learn how the US Geological Survey uses a suite of airborne geophysical tools to map the subsurface geology in selected areas of Nebraska to better understand the groundwater-surface water relationship and related hydrogeologic framework. This information can then be used by the groundwater modeler to improve models for groundwater management. This project is in cooperation with the local Natural Resources Districts and the University of Nebraska Conservation and Survey Division.
Length: 1 hour
Presenter: Groundwater Foundation
Presenter:Just what is groundwater? This webinar will help you understand what groundwater is, how it can become contaminated and what you can do to protect it.
Length: 10 minutes
Presenter: Kevin Dennehy, U.S. Geological Survey
Kevin Dennehy is the Coordinator for the U.S. Geological Survey’s Groundwater Resources Program in Reston, Virginia. The Groundwater Resources Program focuses on national and regional interests in groundwater by conducting multidisciplinary large-scale studies of groundwater availability; developing new field techniques, geophysical methods, and computer models to monitor and analyze groundwater systems; and, monitors changes in groundwater conditions resulting from climate variability and withdrawals. He has more than 30 years experience in the study and analysis of all aspects of hydrology and is the author or co-author of more than 50 publications on topics like surface water and groundwater interactions, unsaturated zone processes, surface water and groundwater simulation, surface water and groundwater quality sampling and analysis, and aquifer test analysis. Kevin received undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of New Hampshire and the University of South Carolina.
Overview: Groundwater is one of the most important natural resources in the United States, and is essential to our health and economic well being. Increasing competition for groundwater to meet the needs of a growing population, agriculture, industry, and the environment all weigh on the sustainability of these reserves. Amplifying these demands are the effects of currently unforeseen factors like climate variability and change. Therefore, it is critical to assess and understand the past, present, and future conditions of our Nation’s groundwater reserves. To that end, the U.S. Geological Survey’s Groundwater Resources Program is conducting large-scale multidisciplinary regional studies of groundwater availability. Regional groundwater availability studies quantify current groundwater reserves, evaluate how those reserves have changed through time, and provide tools that decision makers can use to forecast system responses to future development and climate variability and change. The results of these individual groundwater availability studies will be used collectively as building blocks towards a national assessment of groundwater availability.
Length: 1 hour
Presenter: The Groundwater Foundation
Overview: This webinar focuses on innovative groundwater education efforts from The Groundwater Foundation, Groundwater Guardians, and other communities. Learn about The Groundwater Foundation’s latest educational programs and projects and get a preview of upcoming efforts, including Groundwater Guardian Green Sites, LEAP (Learn, Educate, Act, Protect), Outdoor Adventures in H2O Summer Day Camp, and Rain Gardens. You’ll also hear what Groundwater Guardians and other communities from around the country have been up to during the past year to give teams new ideas.
Length: 35 minutes
Presenter: Karen Griffin O’Connor, PG, Senior Scientist, Olsson Associates
Karen has more than 15 years of experience managing multidisciplinary projects focused in the fields of geology and hydrogeology. She received her bachelor’s degree in geology from Smith College and her master’s degree from the University of California Santa Barbara. She currently works on the Hydrogeology Team for Olsson Associates in Lincoln, Nebraska. Her current passion is redevelopment of Brownfield sites implementing new technologies to protect and restore our surface water and groundwater resources.
Overview: Learn how GIS mapping and groundwater modeling are being used to help promote sustainable groundwater development. The webinar will present project case studies of GIS work with two Natural Resources Districts (NRDs) in Nebraska, and the results from a groundwater model developed specifically to evaluate the potential impacts of new high capacity wells near the community of Hastings, Nebraska.
Length: 53 minutes
Presenter: Ryan Chapman, Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality
Overview: Learn about the Nebraska Wellhead Protection program! This voluntary program was developed to prevent groundwater contamination from entering public water supply wells. The webinar discusses the purpose of the program, an overview of the six steps in the protection process, and funding options.
Length: 1 hour
If you have any suggestions for topics or questions about the webinar series, please forward them to webinar@groundwater.org.
Support for The Groundwater Foundation’s Webinar Series provided by the Water Research Foundation.
