Announcements 2026.2.19

[Walker, Jane]

1.) Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Cleanup Studies and Implementation Plans – Various Dates, Starting: February 24, 2026
2.) Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc. (CUAHSI) Events – Various Dates, Starting: February 25, 2026
3.) Webinar: Resilient Design Standards for a Wetter Future in Virginia -- February 26, 2026
4.) State Park Master Plan Public Information and Comment Meetings
   ++ Wilderness Road State Park – March 4, 2026
   ++ Mayo River State Park – March 12, 2026
5.) National Forum on Nature-Based Solutions -- March 10-12, 2026
6.) North Carolina Water Resources Research Institute (WRRI) Annual Conference -- Registration Deadline: March 17, 2026; Conference: March 25-26, 2026
7.) AWRA 2026 Geospatial Water Technology Conference -- May 18-20, 2026
8.) Call for Proposals: 2026 Virginia Water Resources Research Center Student Research Competitive Grant -- Submission Deadline: March 20, 2026
9.) American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association (ARCSA) News
10.) Course: Sediment Transport in Stream Assessment and Design -- August 3-7, 2026
11.) DEQ Annual Water Quality Monitoring Plan Dashboard -- https://datascience.deq.virginia.gov/public/Water-Monitoring-Plan/
12.) WaterOperator.org Online Courses -- https://classes.wateroperator.org/.
   ++ Basic Cybersecurity Measures for Water and Wastewater Systems
   ++ Groundwater and Well Care for Public Water Systems
13.) Water Center Jobs Board – https://www.vwrrc.vt.edu/jobs/
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See recent announcements and learn more about the Virginia Water Monitoring Council (VWMC) at www.VirginiaWMC.org. Feel free to forward these announcements. When forwarding, please acknowledge the VWMC. If you have a water-related announcement of regional or statewide interest, send it to vw...@vt.edu and ask that it be distributed to the VWMC membership. If someone forwarded this message to you, you can join the VWMC for free by sending your name, water-monitoring affiliation (if applicable), and contact information (email address, mailing address, and phone number) to vw...@vt.edu.  Thank you to Julia Porter, VWMC intern, for developing and organizing this week’s set of VWMC announcements.
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1.) Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Cleanup Studies and Implementation Plans – Learn more about TMDL studies under development across Virginia at https://www.deq.virginia.gov/water/water-quality/tmdl-development/tmdls-under-development. Learn more about Virginia’s cleanup implementation plans under development at https://www.deq.virginia.gov/water/water-quality/implementation/implementation-plans-under-development.
   ++ Implementation Plan (IP): Clinch River, Little Stoney Creek, Staunton Creek, Fall Creek, Russell Creek, Lick Creek, Laurel Branch and Cigarette Hollow (Russell, Scott, Wise Counties) – Meeting: February 24, 2026 (2:30pm) --  Lebanon, VA -- https://townhall.virginia.gov/L/ViewMeeting.cfm?MeetingID=42972 
   ++ TMDL Cleanup Study: South Fork Rivanna River and tributaries (Albemarle County) -- Comments Due: March 9, 2026 -- https://townhall.virginia.gov/L/ViewMeeting.cfm?MeetingID=42932
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2.) Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc. (CUAHSI) Events
   ++ Integrating Hydrology and Geophysics Webinar Series -- February 25, 2026 and March 11, 2026 (2-3pm) -- https://www.cuahsi.org/cyberseminars/series/integrating-hydrology-and-geophysics
   ++ Cyber Series: Introduction to National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) for Hydrology -- March 4, 2026 (12-1pm) and April 1, 2026 (12-2pm) -- https://www.cuahsi.org/cyberseminars/series/introduction-to-neon-for-hydrology
   ++ Call for Faculty Instructors: 2026 CUAHSI Virtual University -- Application Deadline: March 16, 2026 -- https://cuahsi.jotform.com/260414260402947
   ++ WaterSoftHack 2026 -- Application Deadline: March 31, 2026; Event: July 20 to July 31, 2026 (virtually via Zoom) -- https://watersofthack.github.io/ --  Aims to cultivate the workforce that creates, utilizes, and supports advanced cyberinfrastructure (CI) workflows and tools to enable and potentially transform fundamental water science education and research.
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3.) Webinar: Resilient Design Standards for a Wetter Future in Virginia -- February 26, 2026 (12-1pm) -- This webinar will feature two speakers who will discuss strategies that help communities adapt to rising water levels, more intense rainfall, and increasing flood exposure, focusing on design approaches that strengthen long‑term resilience across the region. For more information and to register, see https://www.cbf.org/events/. Organized by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.
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4.) State Park Master Plan Public Information and Comment Meetings – Learn more about master plans for state parks at https://www.dcr.virginia.gov/recreational-planning/masterplans. Hosted by the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation.
   ++ Wilderness Road State Park – March 4, 2026 (6pm) – Electronic/Ewing, VA -- https://townhall.virginia.gov/L/ViewMeeting.cfm?MeetingID=42935.
   ++ Mayo River State Park – March 12, 2026 (6pm) – Electronic -- https://townhall.virginia.gov/L/ViewMeeting.cfm?MeetingID=42983
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5.) National Forum on Nature-Based Solutions -- March 10-12, 2026 -- Mobile, AL -- This forum is an opportunity for practitioners, community leaders, and decision-makers to connect and discuss how to best implement nature-based solutions for social, environmental, and economic benefit. This year’s forum will focus on spatial and temporal scales of implementing nature-based solutions, financing and economic considerations, policy updates, and best practices for collaboration and co-production of projects. It will feature breakout discussions, networking receptions, lightning talks, and more. For more information and to register, see https://www.nationalacademies.org/projects/GULF-GEPS-25-02/event/46148. Organized by the Gulf Research Program of the National Academy of Sciences.
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6.) North Carolina Water Resources Research Institute (WRRI) Annual Conference -- Registration Deadline: March 17, 2026; Conference: March 25-26, 2026 -- Raleigh, NC -- For more information and to register, see https://wrri.ncsu.edu/events/conference/. Organized by North Carolina State University’s Water Resources Research Institute.
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7.) AWRA 2026 Geospatial Water Technology Conference -- May 18-20, 2026 -- Niagara Falls, NY -- Theme “Geospatial and AI Innovations for Smarter Water Solutions” – Early-bird registration deadline is March 24, 2026. For more information and to register, see https://www.awra.org/Members/Events_and_Education/Events_and_Education_Conferences.aspx. Organized by the American Water Resources Association (AWRA).
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8.) Call for Proposals: 2026 Virginia Water Resources Research Center Student Research Competitive Grant -- Submission Deadline: March 20, 2026 (5pm) -- This grant provides competitive funding for student-led research in water resources. Proposals in all areas of water resources-related research, including science, policy, management, and engineering, are welcome. The maximum funding amount is $10,000 for one year, and up to four proposals may be awarded. For more information and to submit a proposal, visit https://www.vwrrc.vt.edu/grant-opportunities/competitive-grants/. Provided by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center.
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9.) American Rainwater Catchment Systems Association (ARCSA) News
   ++ ARCSA Technical Symposium -- May 20-21, 2026 – Brookshire, Texas -- https://arcsainternational.org/news/arcsa-international-technical-symposium
   ++ ARCSA Regional Resource Guide -- https://arcsainternational.org/regional-resource-guide
   ++ ARCSA Educational Videos – Videos of experts providing rainwater harvesting installation tips for compliance.  Learn more and view videos at https://arcsainternational.org/resources/videos.
   ++ ARCSA Classes and Workshops -- https://arcsainternational.org/arcsa-education/classes-and-workshops
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10.) Course: Sediment Transport in Stream Assessment and Design -- August 3-7, 2026 -- Logan, UT -- This course is intended for those who wish to understand and apply the principles of sediment transport to alluvial channel assessment and design. It will balance advance reading, lecture, field work, and hands-on exercises for estimating sediment supply, calculating sediment transport rates, and forecasting channel response to water and sediment supply. For more information, see https://qanr.usu.edu/wats/programs/short-courses/sediment-transport/. Organized by Utah State University.
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11.) DEQ Annual Water Quality Monitoring Plan Dashboard -- The dashboard provides downloadable information including: Station locations, Types of monitoring conducted, and Frequency of sampling. To access the dashboard, visit https://datascience.deq.virginia.gov/public/Water-Monitoring-Plan/. Offered by the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ).
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12.) WaterOperator.org Online Courses -- For more information about these free online courses, see https://classes.wateroperator.org/.
   ++ Basic Cybersecurity Measures for Water and Wastewater Systems -- This course addresses the importance of protecting essential services from evolving threats and vulnerabilities.
   ++ Groundwater and Well Care for Public Water Systems -- This course will help owners and operators of public water systems with a groundwater well better understand how to properly care for their water supply. (Pre-approved for 2 hours of operator continuing education credit)
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13.) Water Center Jobs Board – View a listing of current job opportunities and employment resources on the Jobs Board at https://www.vwrrc.vt.edu/jobs/. Developed by the Virginia Water Resources Research Center (Water Center).
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The VWMC announcements are provided with support from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and the Virginia Water Resources Research Center with funding from the U.S. Geological Survey. Thank you to our sponsors!

You too can sponsor the VWMC announcements.  Tax-deductible contributions can be made to the VWMC to support information updates and other VWMC activities.  Make checks payable to: “The Virginia Tech Foundation” and on the memo portion of the check include “VWMC Fund #872802.” Mail contributions to the Virginia Water Resources Research Center (0444, Attn: Jane Walker) at 210 Cheatham Hall, Virginia Tech; 310 West Campus Drive; Blacksburg, VA 24061.