The Groundwater Summit kicks off today at 11:15 a.m. EST with General Membership Meeting, Tuesday Welcome, and Awards Ceremony followed by the Summit
Keynote Address from Alfonso Rivera, Ph.D., pictured at right, chief hydrogeologist of the Geological Survey of Canada, Department of Natural Resources Canada, at 12 p.m. EST.
Rivera will discuss the “State of Knowledge and Shared Management of Transboundary Aquifers at the Global Scale” during his address.
Rivera notes that a great number of transboundary water systems of the world, including transboundary aquifers (TBAs), support the socioeconomic development and wellbeing of an important part of the world’s population.
Transboundary water issues abound and are complicated by lack of adequate governance and shared management. Of upmost importance to resolve those issues are the background assessments, legally binding agreements, and by the fact that in many cases institutional
asymmetries do not allow for a standardized knowledge.
In addition to working at the Geological Survey in Canada, Rivera is the author and editor of the book, Canada’s Groundwater Resources, which is available
in the NGWA Bookstore. (All book purchases during the Groundwater Summit come with free shipping.)
During the General Membership Meeting, Tuesday Welcome, and Awards Ceremony, which takes place from 11:15 a.m.-12 p.m. EST, the following awards will be presented.
Outstanding Groundwater Project Awards —
- Golder Associates, S.S. Papadopulos & Associates Inc., and Arcadis — Rapid Response and Remediation of Wellfield with Perchlorate, City of Evart, Michigan — Groundwater Remediation Award
- Daniel B. Stephens & Associates Inc. — Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority DWTP Large-Scale Recharge Project — Groundwater Supply Award
Sectional Awards —
- Ronald Falta, Ph.D., professor, Clemson University, Clemson South Carolina — John Hem Award for Excellence in Science & Engineering
- Neil Thomson, Ph.D., P.Eng., professor, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada — Keith E. Anderson Award
NGWA Award of Excellence —
- James Butler Jr., Ph.D., senior scientist and chief of the Geohydrology Section of the Kansas Geological Survey at the University of Kansas — M. King Hubbert Award
Groundwater Summit technical sessions and Groundwater Week workshops begin at 12 p.m. EST today and run until 6 p.m. EST.