The Sacramento Branch is pleased to present:

"The Future of Water: Data or Instincts?"

Todd Halihan, Ph.D., P.Gp. 

2018 National Ground Water Association (NGWA) McEllhiney Lecturer

Professor of Geology at Oklahoma State University

Chief Technical Officer for Aestus LLC.

PRESENTATION:

Mankind uses economics, politics, and basic instincts to make decisions about water. However, the data on the hydrologic cycle suggests we are developing water incorrectly for two basic reasons. The first is our instincts are built upon water that is visible, so we ignore evapotranspiration which causes salinization, reduced water availability, and increased infrastructure costs. The second is our development of water preceded satellite data and computing power. This resulted in ignoring complicated groundwater systems that need to be defined on the meter scale and adopting simple concepts like dams and center pivot irrigation that do not require significant data management. A framework to improve our water resources will be presented as well as some case studies on how these problems present themselves.

SPEAKER BIO:

Todd Halihan, Ph.D., P.Gp., is a Professor of Geology at Oklahoma State University and Chief Technical Officer for Aestus LLC. His professional interests center in subsurface characterization and sustainable water supply. Halihan has been an associate editor for Groundwater and has served as Secretary-Treasurer of the U.S. Chapter of the International Association of Hydrogeologists. He served as Chair of the Hydrogeology Division and the South-Central Section of the Geological Society of America. He currently serves on the Oklahoma governor’s Coordinating Council on Seismic Activity.

Halihan has worked on over 200 different research and commercial sites in more than 30 U.S. states and overseas. His international research work has occurred in Australia, Bahamas, Brazil, Mexico, and South Africa along with a number of other countries on a commercial basis. He has also spent a significant amount of time in his home state of Oklahoma evaluating the Arbuckle Group of carbonates and associated springs.

Halihan is the recipient of the Karin and Robert J. Sternberg Award for Excellence, the Partners in Conservation Award from the U.S. Department of Interior, and the Sterling L. Burks Award for Outstanding Environmental Research. He is also a professional driller in the state of Oklahoma and a PADI divemaster (Professional Association of Diving Instructors). He has provided input to stories on CBS, Fox News, NPR, CNBC, Popular Science, The New Yorker, and The New York Times.

SCHOLASTIC SPONSOR:

Sac Branch Sponsor Earth Sense  

ABOUT WELLNTEL:

With Wellntel’s real-time groundwater-level monitoring technology, consultants, communities and farmers quickly and cost-effectively build monitoring networks to improve groundwater understanding and provide an accurate assessment of progress towards sustainability goals.

Wellntel combines patented, next-generation acoustic measurement technology, remote telemetry, and a cloud-computing platform to collect accurate and reliable groundwater-level measurements from both production and monitoring wells. Network managers access online accounts to view data and trends from all networked wells, generate reports or download for further analysis.  Participating private well owners also have accounts to their own water supply and trends.

Whatever your current groundwater-level monitoring activity, Wellntel can help complement and extend your network and create greater community understanding and engagement around the shared resource.

ANNOUNCING SCHOLASTIC SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES:

All Proceeds to Benefit Science Students

The GRA Sacramento Branch has a history of supporting university-level science students. Our Scholastic Sponsorship Program is an opportunity to publicize your business while contributing toward a good cause. The cost is minimal; if interested, please contact Linda Bond at (530) 757-1500 or Linda.Bond@water.ca.gov.

AGENDA:

Social Hour - 5:30-6:30 p.m.
Announcements & Dinner - 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Presentation - 7:30-8:30 p.m.

Usual great food, including two meat entrées, salad, rice, potatoes, vegetable and Iced Tea. A No-host beer and wine bar will be available.

MEETING COSTS and RSVP:

EARLY BIRD MEETING COSTS:

Members: $27.00
Non-Members: $32.00
Students: $10.00

  • Cancellations must be made by noon on Monday, August 6th.
  • If you register after Noon on Monday, August 6th, or walk-in, a $3.00 surcharge will be added to the meeting cost.

If you have questions about the meeting, please telephone Rodney Fricke at 916-407-8539 or email him at rodneyafricke@gmail.com.  For questions about Sacramento Branch in general, including submittal of your ideas and/or desires for future presentations, please telephone Linda Bond at (530) 757-1500 or email her at Linda.Bond@water.ca.gov.

UPCOMING MEETINGS & EVENTS:

September 12th: Glenn Meek, CA State Water Resources Control Board, Update on the Central Valley Salts Program



Date and Time

Wed, Aug. 8, 2018

5:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
(GMT-0700) US/Pacific

Location

Aviator's Restaurant at the Sacramento Executive Airport

6151 Freeport Blvd.
Sacramento, CA 95822
United States of America


Event has ended