Water Resources Conference
How clean and pure is our water supply? How much drinking water do we have in this county and surrounding counties? Will we have enough drinking water as the region grows?
These and other questions will be explored at the University of West Georgia’s first annual Water Resources Conference, “Tapping into the Flow: Water in West Georgia,” on Friday, Feb. 2, at the Food Services Building (Z-6). Dozens of UWG students studying political science and the geosciences will attend the all-day conference.
The event has been organized in response to local concerns regarding the political and physical character of water in the region and is sponsored by the Southwire Company in partnership with the Department of Geosciences and the Murphy Center for Public Service at UWG.
The community is invited to attend this important event and hear a variety of speakers ranging from scientists and conservationists to local water supply experts from the west Georgia region.
Keynote speakers for the conference are Sally Bethea, executive director of the Upper Chattahoochee RiverKeepers, Dr. Aris Georgakakos, director of the Georgia Water Resource Institute and professor of civil and environmental engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and Dr. George William Sherk, professor of environmental management and an associate at the International Water Law Research Institute at the University of Dundee in Scotland.
Presenters at the conference include Dr. Curtis L. Hollabaugh, professor of geology and chair of the Department of Geosciences; Lester Williams, director of the Institute of Hydrology and a hydrogeologist at the United States Geological Survey; and Dr. Thomas J. Crawford, professor emeritus of geology.
Hollabaugh is the founder and president of the Upper Tallapoosa Watershed Group and a member of the Center for Water Resources at UWG.
Crawford has more than 35 years experience in structural geology, geologic mapping and the exploration and development of groundwater across Georgia. Their groundwater expertise has helped site and develop wells for numerous homeowners, schools and colleges, businesses and towns.
Pete Frost, director of the Douglasville/Douglas County Water and Sewer Authority; Matt Windom, director of the Carroll County Water Authority; and Jerry Jennings, chair of the executive committee of the Northwest Georgia Regional Water Resources Council, will also make presentations.
The conference is scheduled from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. with registration for the conference scheduled from 8:30 to 9 a.m. The registration fee is $30 and includes morning refreshments and lunch. Michael Aldrich, assistant to the academic vice president, is coordinating the conference.
For more information or to register, call 678-839-6611.
