Big 3 Takeaways: One Water Partnerships: Innovative, inclusive, and integrated approaches to water resource management
The Current Webinar 50: One Water Partnerships: Innovative, inclusive, and integrated approaches to water resource management featured three professionals in water management who are all a part of projects centered on the One Water approach.
Miss the webinar? Watch the full recording on our YouTube channel. Don’t have time to watch the recording? Not a problem – here are three big takeaways:
- Lorraine Winters Krzyzewski with the City of Columbus discussed the city’s efforts to protect source water. Since 1996, the City has worked to provide financial and in-kind support to fund agricultural best management practices and education in Central Ohio watersheds. For example, the City partnered with local farmers, local soil and water conservation districts, Ohio State University, NRCS, the Ohio Department of Agriculture, and the Ohio DNR, among others to address atrazine water issues. Benefits to a collaborative approach include building trust, sharing data, and resource sustainability.
- Mike Kuntz, Utilities Environmental Engineer with the City of Cedar Rapids explained the city’s need for a One Water approach due to recent major flooding and high nitrate levels. Kuntz emphasized the importance of partnerships with government agencies, non-profits, and Iowa State Extension to help fund, implement, and monitor water quality practices.
- Deborah Bathke of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln National Drought Mitigation Center discussed a Network-funded project focusing on using scenario-based exercises to plan for drought. She spoke about the importance of being prepared for drought before it happens. One way to do this is with scenario-based exercises which can take different forms, such as games or workshops. This project will be compiled into an interactive extension guide to help communities and organizations plan scenario-based exercises for collaborative drought planning. If interested, you can participate in the development of the guide by attending a 1-day workshop in the NC region (travel expenses will be covered) to test the interactive guide, participating in a series of mock exercises, and providing feedback. If interested, please contact Deb at dbathke2@unl.edu.
You can watch the full webinar recording on the Network’s YouTube Channel and view the presentation slides in our media archive. For more information on the work presented in this webinar, please contact the presenters:
- Lorraine Winters Krzyzewski lowinters@columbus.gov
- Mike Kuntz mikek2@cedar-rapids.org
- Deborah Bathke dbathke2@unl.edu