Please Join GRA On March 13, 2019 at
CSUS - Sacramento State Alumni Center
Resilience from Below: Proactively Managing Groundwater to Sustain Communities and Nature in an Uncertain Future
2019 David Keith Todd Distinguished Lecturer
Maurice Hall, Ph.D. Associate Vice President, Ecosystems-Water Environmental Defense Fund
PRESENTATION:
Groundwater provides a wide array of services to support our economy and communities. Perhaps most obviously, it captures distributed rainfall and delivers it to wells. It also sustains rivers and streams, supports groundwater-dependent ecosystems, and serves as an incredible storage reservoir. Yet, except for a few notable exceptions, our groundwater basins, these amazing natural infrastructure facilities, are largely managed passively, if they are managed at all. Even the most successful examples of proactive groundwater basin management tend to be focused primarily on one service – sustained supply to wells. Inevitably, this passive or singularly focused groundwater management means that other groundwater services are compromised over time. With a bit more attention and sophistication, however, the multiple benefits that groundwater basins provide can be preserved, and in some cases, enhanced.
In his David Keith Todd Distinguished lecture for 2019, Maurice Hall will share his vision on how more holistic and inclusive groundwater management can increase the resilience of our water supply and sustain and enhance the services that groundwater basins provide for a wide range of stakeholders. Maurice will share some suggestions on how the flexibility offered by California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act allows for innovative approaches that support multiple benefits and how engaging stakeholders beyond water interests in shaping groundwater management can lead to more resilient rural communities and strengthen regional cooperation.
SPEAKER BIO:
As associate vice president of water for the ecosystems program, Maurice Hall oversees EDF’s work to revitalize working rivers and their ability to provide a resilient water supply. He focuses on developing collaborative water management approaches to meet ecosystem needs alongside the needs of farms and cities. Approaches central to this work include shaping water transaction programs that achieve resilient water supplies while protecting the environment and vulnerable communities, improving information systems to inform smart management of water resources, and shaping water governance that proactively considers multiple objectives and responds to climate change.
Maurice joined EDF in May 2016. Previously, he served as the water program lead for the Water Funder Initiative, a collaborative effort to identify and activate promising water solutions through strategic philanthropic investments in the United States, starting in the American West. He also spent seven years with The Nature Conservancy (TNC) where his roles included science and engineering lead for the California Water Program. His work focused on improving our understanding of the relationship between hydrology and water-dependent ecosystems and developing integrated water management strategies to restore and protect ecosystems. Maurice holds a B.S. from the University of Tennessee Chattanooga and a PhD in Earth Resources, Watershed Sciences from Colorado State University.
AGENDA:
Social Hour - 5:30-6:30 p.m.
Announcements & Dinner - 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Presentation - 7:30-8:30 p.m.
MEETING COSTS AND RSVP:
Costs and menu are shown below. GRA is unable to assure food and room for you without an RSVP. Seating could be limited, please register early. Late registration will be limited and walk-in attendees may be turned away. Using GRA’s automated RSVP process is quick and painless!
PARKING:
Parking pass is required 24/7; a pass can be purchased for $6 and multiple kiosk machines in the parking lot.
MEETING COSTS:
Members: $35.00
Non-Members: $40.00
Students: $5.00
If you register after Noon on Monday, March 11th, or walk-in, a $3.00 surcharge will be added to the meeting cost.
Buffet Dinner: Taco Bar with beef & chicken options, rice beans & tortillas.
A No-host beer and wine bar will be available.
Cancellations must be made by Noon on Monday, March 11th.
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.
SCHOLASTIC SPONSOR:
ABOUT SPONSOR: MONTGOMERY & ASSOCIATES
Montgomery & Associates (M&A) Water Resource Consultants has over 30 years of experience in groundwater planning and development. M&A provides technical and strategic services to communities, agriculture, and industry throughout California and the western United States. M&A provides services in six main areas: water resource planning; hydrologic modeling; water rights and impacts; water supply and recharge; mining and environmental hydrogeology. We employ a group of professionals who specialize in hydrology, geology, soil science, policy and regulatory affairs, groundwater modeling, GIS analyses and 3D visualization, database management, and instrumentation and monitoring. Most of our principals have more than 20 years of experience.
Officially founded in 1984 by Dr. Errol Montgomery in Tucson, M&A’s roots date back to the 1960s as a professional affiliation with Dr. Harshbarger who founded the renowned Department of Hydrology & Water Resources at the University of Arizona. In 2018, M&A acquired HydroMetrics Water Resources Inc., an industry leader in California, and with expertise helping clients comply with California’s Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA). We have California offices in Sacramento, Oakland, and Paso Robles; other locations include Tucson, Phoenix, Denver, Salt Lake City; Santiago, Chile; and Lima, Perú.
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 Michael Bombard at (916) 514-4458 or Michael.Bombard@ghd.com.
UPCOMING MEETINGS & EVENTS:
April 10th: Dr. Laura J. Crossey, Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences at the University of New Mexico, GSA Birdsall-Dreiss Distinguished Lecturer, Chemistry and Geoscience Education at Grand Canyon and Beyond: Who Knew Groundwater Hydrology Could Be So Complicated?
May 8th: Deborah Green, AEG-GSA 2018-2019 Richard H. Jahns Distinguished Lecturer in Applied Geology, Let’s Talk: A Conversation on How We Communicate about Science
June 12th: David Sandino, Esq., Senior Staff Counsel, California Department of Water Resources, The Disconnect Between Groundwater Legal Systems and Groundwater Hydrology: What Changes Should Be Made to Groundwater Law to Better Reflect the Physical Environment? (GRA David Keith Todd Lecturer with outreach to UC Davis)
Coming this Fall: California Regulatory Panel, State Board and DTSC, Emerging Issues