Contact: Nathan Glavy, 979-458-5915, Nathan.Glavy@ag.tamu.edu
Nikki Dictson, 979-575-4424, n-dictson@tamu.edu
AUSTIN–The Texas Water Resources Institute is hosting Introduction to Watershed Modeling Oct. 5 at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality headquarters, 12100 Park 35 Circle in Austin.
The workshop will be from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. in the commission’s Building B, Room 201A. Cost is $100 and includes course materials, a catered lunch and a certificate of completion.
Nathan Glavy, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service program specialist for the institute, said the workshop will provide watershed coordinators and water professionals with an introduction to watershed modeling.
“Participants will gain an understanding of what model is needed for watershed protection planning, how modeling fits into the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s nine elements of watershed planning and the resources needed to take the next steps,” Glavy said.
Dr. Raghavan Srinivasan, director of the Texas A&M University Spatial Sciences Laboratory, will review the purpose, limitations, time, costs and requirements of available watershed models.
Dr. Larry Hauck, lead scientist for Tarleton State University’s Texas Institute of Applied Environmental Research, will present information on tools that can be used with limited data and under resource constraints, such as load duration curves and GIS land-use-based methods.
Sandra Arismendez, lead nonpoint source quality assurance specialist for the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, will explain quality assurance project plans, what the plans need to cover, how the data need to be described and other details.
Dr. Lucas Gregory, research scientist with the institute, will conclude with a presentation on stakeholder communications and modeling.
“Bringing stakeholders to the table to understand the model, facilitate consensus and approval of inputs and present modeling results in order to engage them in implementation is very important,” Glavy said.
Participants may register for this training at http://watershedplanning.tamu.edu/training/ and more information is available at the website or by contacting Nathan Glavy at 979-458-5915 or Nathan.Glavy@ag.tamu.edu.
The training course is supported by funding through a federal Clean Water Act Nonpoint Source Grant administered by the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The Texas Water Resources Institute is part of Texas A&M AgriLife Research, AgriLife Extension and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University.
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