Florida Water & Climate Alliance Workshop
Workshop 21
The Florida Water and Climate Alliance (FloridaWCA) is a stakeholder-scientist network committed to the co-development of locally relevant, applied climate science and tools for the water sector in Florida. Founded in 2010, the FloridaWCA brings together scientists, water resource managers and public water suppliers at local/regional/state levels to address challenges of climate change impacts on Florida’s water sector. Our mission is to foster partnerships to co-develop and share actionable climate science, data and decision support that promotes sustainability in the water sector through applied research, learning and outreach. FloridaWCA achieves its mission by facilitating: 1) interdisciplinary research projects and applications; 2) three workshops per year to promote knowledge exchange and networking opportunities; and 3) online access to data and information through FloridaWCA.org.
The 21st FloridaWCA workshop was hosted by OUC in Orlando, Florida, and was attended by 37 participants from 21 organizations.
Workshop Goal: Provide an environment for stakeholder-scientist exchange of current research and tools to address climate variability and change issues with a focus on increasing local relevancy to utilities and water resource managers. Explore topics that that may help inform scientists’ research that would result in an actionable science of use to practitioners.
Workshop Objectives
- Research and Planning – Share information on the state of climate science and action useful to local water supply and resource planning and operations.
- Community – Share current activities and explore interests based on shared strengths and resources of the represented institutions.
- Community – Explore opportunities to partner on activities of interest to the participants.
Read Workshop Agenda Read Workshop Report
The workshop featured the following presentations and speakers:
- Welcome and Introductions: Kevin Morris & Karen Schlatter, Peace River Manasota RWSA & University of Florida Water Institute.
- Central Florida Water Initiative Update: Craig Varn, Partner, Manson Bolves Donaldson Varn.
- Technical Review of Lake Okeechobee Regulation Schedule and Bluegreen Algae Taskforce Updates: Wendy Graham, Carl S. Swisher Eminent Scholar in Water Resources, Director of the University of Florida Water Institute.
- NASA ROSES Project Overview: Chris Martinez, Associate Professor of Urban Water Resources, Center for Landscape Conservation and Ecology, University of Florida.
- High Resolution Seasonal Dynamical Forecasts: Vasu Misra, Professor of Meteorology, Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies, Florida State University.
- Peace River Manasota Water Authority ASR Index: Kevin Morris, Manager of Engineering and Projects, Peace River Manasota Regional Water Supply Authority.
- Tampa Bay Water’s Seasonal Resource Allocation Models: Tirusew Asefa, Manager, Planning & System Decision Support, Tampa Bay Water.
- Contextual Model of Decision-Making: Tracy Irani, Professor and Department Chair, Family Youth and Community Science, University of Florida/IFAS.
- Sea Level Rise, Coastal Impacts, and Adaptation: Thomas Wahl, Assistant Professor of Coastal Risks and Engineering, University of Central Florida.
- Broward County Surface Water Model, Rainfall Projections, and Flood Map: John Loper, Associate Vice President, Taylor Engineering.
To access the database for all workshop files, click here.
