The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute featured a panel of Nebraska Water Center staff and partners as experts at its 2025 fall symposium in the Nebraska East Union on September 27.
With the theme “Global and Regional Water Issues: Challenges and Solutions,” the symposium drew 116 attendees to hear from eight speakers about water issues in Nebraska and worldwide.
Daniel Snow, Water Sciences Laboratory director and research professor, and Katie Cameron, hydrogeologist for UNL’s School of Natural Resources’s Conservation and Survey Division, spoke on a panel about Nebraska water issues with Chittaranjan Ray, director of the Nebraska Water Center; Marty Stange, environmental supervisor for the City of Hastings; and Anthony Schutz, agricultural law professor at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Snow directs the Water Sciences Laboratory at the Nebraska Water Center and showcased recent research on water quality issues.
“I think the attendees came away with a greater appreciation of climate and water quality issues the state is facing,” he said. “Nebraska is fortunate to have abundant groundwater primarily from the High Plains-Ogallala Aquifer system. Much of this resource lies very close to the surface and is vulnerable to contamination from agricultural activities. Nitrate leached from sandy, heavily irrigated cropland is the most common contaminant, affecting drinking water quality in community and private supplies throughout the state. Extension and outreach efforts, such as the Know Your Well program, help convey this vulnerability to the public and ultimately lead to safer drinking water for all Nebraskans.”
Bob Michl, director of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute and symposium organizer, said the event went incredibly well, attracting about 90% of its attendees from the general public. OLLI is a lifelong learning program for adults 50 years and older. It offers noncredit courses and events and the annual symposium. The symposium was offered both in person and virtually and was open to the community.
“There are a lot of people right here at the University of Nebraska who are outstanding resources for us in this particular subject matter,” Michl said. “So, we were glad to have them be a part of this.”
