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The Iowa Water Summit is a forum designed to establish a roadmap to eliminate impaired waters in Iowa. The Summit will bring together diverse groups to identify consensus solutions to Iowa's water quality problems, and outline specific steps that Iowa can take to achieve this goal. "We have a responsibility as a state to clean our waterways," Governor Vilsack said. "As we work to create opportunities for good jobs and to recruit and retain well-educated workers, we need to recognize the economic advantages of clean waterways. This is a crucial issue for our future and should be viewed as a top priority for state government." The Governor's Iowa Water Summit signals an unprecedented commitment by all sectors for Iowa to address impaired waters. Water impairments result from a variety of sources - most of which result from broad economic activities and are not easily resolved. The Summit seeks to increase public awareness of water quality issues and begin to develop solutions. Participants will study the current impaired waters list and will also focus attention on other waterways that are impaired by nutrients but do not currently qualify for the impaired waters list. Work groups will study specific policy areas and make recommendations to the Summit participants. Other goals of the Summit will be to review existing programs and policies, identify innovative solutions, establish priorities, assign responsibilities, set timetables for action, and identify financial resource needs. The Summit participants will make recommendations to the Governor's Iowa Water Summit Planning Team for development of final, consensus recommendations. Format of the Summit: The Summit will include a morning plenary session in the Auditorium. Speakers will address the goals of the conference, describe water quality issues, and summarize preliminary recommendations made by work groups on five water quality topics. A Taste of Iowa luncheon will include a featured speaker from Washington, D.C. In the afternoon, participants will break into discussion groups, each focused upon preliminary recommendations made by work groups earlier. Their task will be to provide feedback on those recommendations. Summit participants will have an opportunity to evaluate the preliminary recommendations, suggest modifications or priorities, or propose new recommendations. Suggestions from these discussion groups will be briefly reported upon at a closing plenary session. Following the important work of the day, Summit participants will have the opportunity to discuss the water quality issues among themselves in an informal atmosphere at a reception. Recommendations from the Summit will go back to the original work groups who will reevaluate their original recommendations having the benefit of the ideas generated at the Summit. The work groups, in turn, will make revised recommendations to the Governor and his Water Summit Planning committee for approval of final consensus recommendations. These recommendations may guide Iowa water policy in the future and may lead to proposed legislative action, task force activities, or guide agency policies and programs. Location: Scheman Conference Center, Iowa State University, Ames, IA. The Scheman Center is located at the Iowa State Center off Lincoln Way and Elwood Drive. A map is available at www.center.iastate.edu/directions.html. Date: November 24, 2003 Time: Sign-in begins at 8:00 A.M.; program begins at 9:00 A.M.; reception begins at 5:00 P.M. Accommodations: A block of rooms has been set aside for Sunday night, November 23, and Monday night, November 24, for participants who desire accommodations before or after the conference. Contact The Hotel at Gateway Center Other accommodations may be found at www.visitames.com which has a complete listing of Ames hotels. Questions and Inquiries: Contact Lisa Ogle at 515-281-5384. Information on Iowa’s impaired waters is available at www.state.ia.us/epd/wtresrce/303notc.htm. Your ideas for protecting and improving Iowa’s water quality are welcome whether you can attend the conference or not.
Address email to water.summit@dnr.state.ia.us or mail your comments to Bernard Hoyer, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Wallace Office Building, 502 E. 9th Street, Des Moines, IA 50319-0034.
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