2022 Presentations

2022 Governor's Water Conference Agenda

Day One

Roger Pulwarty, Senior Scientist, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), PDF Presentation

Afternoon Breakout Sessions

Current Events: Drought
Moderator: Doug Kluck, NOAA

Michael Sheer, Hazen and Sawyer
Ryan Larsen, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Northwestern Division
Jim Butler, Kansas Geological Survey, University of Kansas
Kevin Low, National Weather Service

Regenerative Agriculture to Restore Kansas Resources
Moderator: Angela Anderson, Kansas Water Office

Andy Lyon, Kansas Dept. of Agriculture, Division of Conservation
Eric Fuchs, Understanding Ag
Michael Thompson, Soil Health Alliance

Kansas Water Challenges from a Utility Perspective
Moderator: Tracy Streeter, Burns & McDonnell

Toby Dougherty, City Manager, City of Hays
Matt Allen, City Manager, Garden City
Steve Shute, Vice-Mayor, City of Gardner

Groundwater Issues: Nitrate and Water Quality
Moderator: Tom Stiles, Kansas Dept. of Health and Environment

Fred Jones, City of Garden City
Mike Schultz, Upper Republican RAC
Rob Gavin, Kansas Dept. of Health and Environment

Day Two

Concurrent Session I

Surface Water Issues
Moderator: Elizabeth Smith, Kansas Dept. of Health & Environment

Aquatic Nuisance Species - Status, Impacts, and Opportunities in Kansas; Chris Steffen, Kansas Dept. of Wildlife and Parks
Utilizing the SWAT model & machine learning for predicting microcystin & geosmin occurrence in Cheney Reservoir; Chen Liang, University of Kansas
Reconstructing historical water quality patterns in large Kansas reservoirs; Ted Harris, Kansas Biological Survey, University of Kansas; Jennifer Moody, Kansas Biological Survey, University of Kansas

Education and Outreach
Moderator: Laura Downey, Kansas Association for Conservation and Environmental Education

Unifying Water Buckets with Knowledge -- Improving Water Quality & Water Conservation; Stacie Minson, KCARE; Holly Dickman, City of Hays
The Arc of Kansas Water Policy: Oral History Interviews; Rex Buchanan, Kansas Geological Survey, University of Kansas

Water and Human Health
Moderator: Tatiana Lin, Kansas Health Institute

Lessons learned from a voluntary drinking water testing project with schools and childcare facilities; Brian Bohnsack, Wichita State University
A Movement for Clean Water in Kansas Schools; Jenna Gorton, Community Action; Tanya Dorf Brunner, Oral Health Kansas
Empathy and the Impact of Utility Rates on Customers; Michelle DeHaven, Wichita State University

Groundwater Conservation Measures
Moderator: Lane Letourneau, Kansas Dept. of Agriculture, Division of Water Resources

Preferences for Groundwater Management: A Survey of Kansas Irrigators; Nathan Hendricks, Kansas State University
Are groundwater conservation management areas in the High Plains aquifer truly saving water; Donald O. Whittemore, Kansas Geological Survey, University of Kansas
GMD 1’s Proposed Four County LEMA; Katie Durham, Groundwater Management District 1; Mark Callender, Groundwater Management District 1

Sedimentation in Reservoirs
Moderator: Laura Totten, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

How Reservoir Sedimentation Changes the Future of Water in Kansas: Results from the Kansas River Reservoir Flood and Sediment Study; John Shelly, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Update on the Tuttle Creek Lake Water Injection Dredging (WID) Demonstration; Josh Olson, Kansas Water Office
North Carolina Ports Water Injection Dredging (WID) Results and Implications for Research and Development at Tuttle Creek; Zachary Tyler, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC)

Concurrent Session II

Arkansas River Basin Water Quality Issues Panel
Moderator: Susan Metzger, Kansas Center for Agricultural Resources and the Environment and the Kansas Water Resources Institute

Derek White, Colorado farmer
Jonathan Aguliar, Kansas State University
Tom Stiles, Kansas Dept. of Health and Environment
Nicole Rowan, Colorado Dept. of Public Health and Environment
Steve Frost, Kansas Dept. of Agriculture
Cindy Lair, Colorado Dept. of Agriculture
Frank Mercurio, Syracuse Dairy
Fred Jones, City of Garden City
Donald O. Whittemore, Kansas Geological Survey, University of Kansas

Groundwater Modeling
Moderator: Richard Rockel, Kansas Water Office

Recharge enhancement in depleting aquifers: Delay of drainage by low-permeability sediment; Gaisheng Liu, Kansas Geological Survey, University of Kansas
Three-Dimensional Model of the Kansas River Valley from Drillers’ Logs; Geoffrey Bohling, Kansas Geological Survey, University of Kansas
Evaluating groundwater conservation using emerging remotely sensed products; Sam Zipper, Kansas Geological Survey, University of Kansas

Flood Data and Mapping Tools
Moderator: Joanna Rohlf, Kansas Dept. of Agriculture

Visualizing Flood, Drought, and Fire from one tool: The Rapid Image Viewer; Kenneth Ekpetere, University of Kansas
Lower Missouri River: Flood Risk Data for the Future; Will Zung, Stantec; Anish Pradhananga, Stantec
It’s Finally Here: A Live Flood Mapping Tool for Kansas; Jude Kastens, Kansas Biological Survey, University of Kansas

Emerging Issues
Moderator: Carrie Ridley, Kansas Geological Survey

Produced Water Reuse and Recovery in Kansas: Assessing our Options; Edward Peltier, University of Kansas
Water Implications of the Energy Transition Away from Emitting Carbon Dioxide; Franek Hasiuk, Kansas Geological Survey, University of Kansas

Stream Erosion and it's Impacts
Moderator: Andy Klein, Kansas Forest Service

Using Low-Tech, Process-Based, In-stream Structures to Restore Incised Streams and Riparian Ecosystems; Huy Le, Juniper Environmental
Marysville Dam Failure; Michael Mansfield, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City District
Impacts to Recreation from Sedimentation in the Kansas River Basin; Jennifer Henggeler, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Kansas City District

Mini-Concurrent Session III

Playa Lakes in Kansas
Moderator: Mike Carter, Playa Lakes Joint Venture

Evaluating Playas in Western Kansas: Recharge to the High Plains aquifer and Economics of Cropping; Tony Layzell, Kansas Geological Survey, University of Kansas; Jude Kastens, Kansas Biological Survey, University of Kansas
Kansas Wetlands & The Kansas Water Initiative; Matthew Hough, Ducks Unlimited, Inc.; Jim Pitman, Ducks Unlimited, Inc.

Crops in a Changing Climate
Moderator: Sarah Sexton-Bowser, Kansas State University

DropXL Sorghum: Developing Water Optimized Sorghum for Kansas using drone imagery and data driven approaches; Md Adbullah Al Bari, Kansas State University; Sarah Sexton-Bowser, Kansas State University
Managing cropping systems for stability in the face of climate variability; Lucas Haag, Kansas State University

Municipal Water Supply
Moderator: Brad Mears, Kansas Municipal Utilities

Current Status and Projects of the Drinking Water Protection (DWP) Program at the Kansas Department of Health and Environment; Logan M. Smith, Kansas Dept. of Health and Environment
Municipal Water Project Planning & Implementation in an Unprecedented Environment; Jake White, Burns & McDonnell; Brian Meier, Burns & McDonnell

Hydrologic Trends in Kansas
Moderator: Sam Zipper, Kansas Geological Survey

Long-Term Water-Quality Constituent Concentrations, Loads, and Trends in the Little Arkansas River, South-Central Kansas, 1995–2021; Mandy Stone, U.S. Geological Survey; Brian Klager, U.S. Geological Survey
Technical Assistance and Western Kansas: The Wild West of Hydrology; Lori Schrader, Stantec; Tara Lanzrath, KS Dept. of Agriculture

Management Techniques for Groundwater
Moderator: Tim Boese, Groundwater Management District 2

Flickner Innovation Farm: Growing for the Future; Ray Flickner, Flickner Farms
Feasibility of Augmenting Streamflow on Rattlesnake Creek from Pumped Groundwater; Colby Osborn, Olsson

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