Event Scholarship Application |
State Water Sustainability Planning Summit: The Groundwater Connection
In some parts of the country, long-range water sustainability planning studies are conducted and implemented with extensive interagency and interdisciplinary coordination with public and stakeholder input. Often the product is considered a State Water Plan. In other parts of the country, long-range planning initiatives are done at a localized district level or at a larger interstate basin level, or not at all. Some of these plans are centered on surface water resources and others include the utilization of groundwater to meet future needs. Long-range planning is critical for assuring efficient conjunctive use of surface and groundwater resources without undue reliance on available surface or groundwater. The Ground Water Protection Council has no position regarding a ‘right way’ to plan for water sustainability. Our member state agencies have growing concerns regarding the increasingly competitive demand for all water resources and we believe that sharing experiences will create avenues to improve water sustainability planning.
The Ground Water Research & Education Foundation is now accepting applications for its consideration, to provide grant funding to cover travel expenses for qualified applicants to participate in the September 11-14, 2016 State Water Sustainability Planning Summit: The Groundwater Connection. The event will take place in Orlando, FL in conjunction with the Ground Water Protection Council’s Annual Forum and National Rural Water Association’s WaterPro conference.
Selected applicants will be invited to be a part of the proceedings of the 2+day event. Participants will be expected to take an active role in the sessions which are designed to highlight innovative initiatives and to address areas where the survey results (gathered from the questionnaire that is part of this application) show the greatest needs for assistance. We plan to also focus on areas pertaining to the challenges of developing and implementing water sustainability planning. The questionnaire will help identify areas where the needs of all water users, including agriculture, energy production, power production, municipal and industrial supply, can provide unique insights into to the state planning process and will help identify topics that should be included in session discussions.
Even if you do not plan to attend the event or are not making a grant application, we would appreciate you completing the questionnaire.
Please complete the following questionnaire/grant application that can be accessed below with as much detailed information as necessary to communicate your thoughts in each section (not to exceed 250 words per response). We ask that you respond to the best of YOUR ability. Your responses will NOT be attributed directly to YOU but rather displayed in aggregate and will be used to further plan the summit to make it meaningful to all attending.
Based on response received, the GWREF will award up to 16 full-ride (coverage of all travel, lodging, and registration costs) scholarships to participate in the September 11-14 GWPC Annual Forum in Orlando, FL, as well as, an additional 20 waived registrations for State agency participation at the event.
Applications and questionnaire responses are due June 30th.
Let’s work together to learn how to develop and implement state-of-the-art state water sustainability plans.