New stormwater seminar series launches at the St. Anthony Falls Laboratory
The St. Anthony Falls Laboratory (SAFL), in partnership with the University of Minnesota’s Water Resources Center, has launched a new seminar series designed to bring national experts on stormwater management and green infrastructure to Minnesota. Called the Minnesota Stormwater Seminar Series, the monthly program aims to connect researchers and practitioners from across Minnesota to promote dialogue and discussion around a variety of stormwater and green infrastructure topics.
“Many practitioners unfortunately don’t have the time or resources to attend conferences and meetings out of state,” said Andy Erickson, Research Associate at the St. Anthony Falls Laboratory. “We wanted to create something that would allow practitioners to get together or tune in online once a month to learn more about relevant stormwater issues from nationally-recognized researchers and practitioners.” Erickson is coordinating the seminar series with Professor John Gulliver, also at the St. Anthony Falls Laboratory, and John Bilotta from the Water Resources Center.
The seminar series includes not only a presentation by the invited speaker, but also a panel discussion with experts drawn from Minnesota’s network of practitioners and regulators. This allows the conversation to focus on Minnesota priorities and initiatives, enabling practitioners to walk away with a better understanding not only of the seminar topic but how the topic is being approached or addressed in Minnesota.
“We’re really excited about the learning and networking opportunities that can arise from the series,” said Jeff Peterson, director of the Water Resources Center.
The inaugural seminar for the series was on April 23rd, 2019 and featured Bill Hunt, William Neal Reynolds Distinguished University Professor & Extension Specialist, in the Department of Biological Agricultural Engineering, at North Carolina State University. The event attracted over 80 people to the SAFL auditorium and over 100 joined the live-stream. The video recording can be viewed here.
The next seminar of the series will occur on May 16th, 2019 and will bring in Bridget Wadzuk from Villanova University to talk about dynamic design for stormwater management, which accounts for infiltration during a storm events and evapotranspiration between events. Implementing a dynamic design process for stormwater in Minnesota could reduce the footprint of infiltration practices while still providing ample storage for the design storm event.
Funding for the series is provided through the Clean Water Fund from the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment. Participants of the seminars can earn professional development hours.
Learn more, see the schedule, and register for upcoming seminars on the website.