Nebraska Water Conference History
From 'History of the UNL Water Center, from 1964 to 2008', School of Natural Resources: Karen E. Stork and Steven W. Ress.
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Panel discussion at the 2006 Water Law, Policy and Science Conference, held at the Embassy Suites, Lincoln, Nebraska. |
Introduction
Public service is an important and ongoing component of the Water Center's mission. Getting information to the public is vital to the Water Center's public outreach and is accomplished many ways - by partnering and maintaining liaisons with federal, state, regional and local water organizations and individuals, by regularly giving presentations on water-related issues and through other on-going activities such as the annual Water Conference.
Brief History
Shortly after appointment as Chancellor of the University of Nebraska (title was changed to President in 1971), Dr. Durward B. Varner noted that Nebraska's water resources represented one of its greatest opportunities for growth and development.
On October 28, 1971, he sent letters to 39 people, selected from various public and private agencies, organizations and interests, asking them to serve as a planning committee to arrange for what he called a "Nebraska Water Resources and Irrigation Development Seminar for the 1970s." All 39 accepted his invitation and the group met for the first time in 1971 and planned the first of what would become the annual Nebraska Water Conference.
At the end of the 1972 seminar, Varner appointed a 25-member Nebraska Water Conference Committee (later a Council) to:
- Plan future annual conferences under the title "Nebraska Water Conference"
- Deal with issues pertaining to irrigation development and to work toward reaching the potential of the state's water and land resources.
Over the years, the Council has been coordinated by the Water Center and continued developing annual Nebraska Water Conferences.
In 2000, collaboration began among the Water Center; the UNL College of Law and other UNL departments to sponsor an annual Water Law, Policy and Science Conference. It is a hybrid of the former Nebraska Water Conferences and national water resources conferences sponsored by the Water Center in the 1970s. The first of this series of conferences was held in 2004.
The Conferences
Listed below are some of the annual Nebraska Water Conference topics. Beginning in 2004, the conference became the annual "Water Law, Policy and Science Conference" (WLPS). For additional information about a particular WLPS, please click on the conference title.
| Date | Theme | Location |
|---|---|---|
| April 29-30, 2009 | Blue Gold, When Water Meets Money | Embassy Suites, Lincoln, Nebraska |
| April 22-23, 2008 | Water Quality Challenges in the Great Plains | Embassy Suites, Lincoln, Nebraska |
| March 26-27, 2007 | The Future of Water Use in Agriculture | Embassy Suites, Lincoln, Nebraska |
| May 4-5, 2006 | Adaptive Management for Resilient Water Resources | Lied Lodge and Conference Center, Nebraska City, Nebraska |
| April 7-8, 2005 | Water Management and Policy in the Great Plains: Implications of Drought and Climate Change | Nebraska Union, City Campus, UNL |
| March 4-5, 2004 | Finding Solutions to Multi-jurisdictional Water Conflicts | Law College, East Campus, UNL |
| 2002 | No Water Conference held - Joined with Nebraska Water Resources Association and Nebraska State Irrigation Association in sponsoring annual NWRA/NSIA Conference entitled "Changing Times / Changing Attitudes" | |
| 2001 | Groundwater Quality Monitoring Workshop | |
| 2000 | Nebraska Water 2000: Managemet for the Future | |
| 1999 | Nebraska Water 2000: Planning for the Future | |
| 1998 | Nebraska Water 2000: Information for the Future | |
| 1997 | The Great Plains Symposium 1997: The Ogallala Aquifer - Managing Drought and Climate Change | |
| 1996 | The Mighty Missouri: Past and Future | |
| 1995 | Water: Understanding a Resource (Water-related Policies on Local, State and Federal Levels) | |
| 1994 | Conjunctive Use: Sharing the Resource | |
| 1993 | A Centennial Observance of Irrigation in Nebraska | |
| 1992 | Living with Wetland Policies and Politics | |
| 1991 | Two Rivers of Nebraska Character, Conflicts and Cooperation | |
| 1990 | Perspectives on the Water Quality Outlook for the 1990s | |
| 1989 | The Sandhills of Nebraska | |
| 1988 | Challenges in Developing and Managing Nebraska's Water Supplies in Light of Emerging World Policies and Production | |
| 1987 | Water Marketing | |
| 1986 | Profit in Agriculture Through Soil and Water Conservation | |
| 1985 | Water Management Implementation | |
| 1984 | The Future of Water Development in Nebraska: Developing a Consensus | |
| 1983 | Moving Forward with Water Management | |
| 1982 | The Changing Platte River | |
| 1980 | Second Conference on Water Data Programs and Needs, co-sponsored by the USGS and Governor's Water Data Coordination Committee | |
| 1979 | Water - Our Diminishing Resource | |
| 1976 | Do We Need a State Water Management Policy? | |
| 1975 | Land and Water Use Planning - a Case Study | |
| 1973 | Water Resources Development in Nebraska |
