Announcements 2026.3.11

[Walker, Jane]

1.) James River Association (JRA) Events – Various Dates, Starting: March 12, 2026
2.) Upcoming Special Elections
   ++ March 17, 2026 -- House of Delegates, 98th District
   ++ April 14, 2026 -- Charles City County Local Referendum
   ++ April 21, 2026 -- Proposed Constitutional Amendment (Statewide) and Alexandria City Council Special Election
3.) Webinar - Hitchhiker’s Guide to Marine Invasions: How Ships Unwittingly Aid—And Combat—Invasive Species -- March 17, 2026
4.) CRC Roundtable: Leveraging Artificial Intelligence to Advance Chesapeake Bay Research and Management -- March 18, 2026
5.) Webinar: An Overview of PFAS Transport in the Environment, Challenges, & Management Strategies -- March 18, 2026
6.) Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Tools and Resources Webinar Series: Freshwater Explorer 2.0 -- March 18, 2026
7.) Webinar: Horticulture with Real Ecology -- March 18, 2026
8.) Women Advancing River Research Seminar Series (virtual) – Various Dates, Starting: March 19, 2026
9.) Chesapeake Stormwater Network (CSN) Webinars – Various Dates: March 19, 2026
10.) Call for Proposals: 2026 Virginia Water Resources Research Center Student Research Competitive Grant -- Submission Deadline: March 20, 2026
11.) LakeLine -- https://www.nalms.org/lakeline-magazine/
12.) ALERT from EPA: U.S. Water Systems should Strengthen Cybersecurity in light of Middle East Activity -- https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/drinking-water/2026/03/05/
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.) James River Association (JRA) Events – Learn about volunteer opportunities with the JRA at https://thejamesriver.org/what-you-can-do/volunteer/. Learn about summer camps with the JRA on the James River at https://thejamesriver.org/camps/. Learn more about the JRA events below at https://thejamesriver.org/events/.
   ++ Living Shoreline Collaborative General Membership Meeting -- March 12, 2026 (1-4pm) – Hampton, VA
   ++ Invasive Species Removal at Chapel Island -- March 13, 2026 and April 17, 2026 (10am-12pm) -- Richmond, VA
   ++ Green Infrastructure Stewards Volunteer Event -- March 27, 2026 and April 24, 2026 (9am-12pm) -- Richmond, VA
   ++ Seasons of the James Workshop -- April 11, 2026 (11am-12pm) -- Richmond, VA
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2.) Upcoming Special Elections – Learn more about these special elections at https://www.elections.virginia.gov/casting-a-ballot/upcoming-elections.html
   ++ March 17, 2026 -- House of Delegates, 98th District (Deadline for early in-person voting: March 14, 2026)
   ++ April 14, 2026 -- Charles City County Local Referendum (Deadlines: register to vote/update registration: April 3, 2026; Deadline for early in-person voting: April 11, 2026; Deadline to apply for ballot to be mailed to you: April 3, 2026)
   ++ April 21, 2026 -- Proposed Constitutional Amendment (Statewide) and Alexandria City Council Special Election (Deadlines: Register to vote/update registration: April 14, 2026; Deadline for early in-person voting: April 18, 2026; Deadline to apply for ballot to be mailed to you: April 10, 2026)
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3.) Webinar - Hitchhiker’s Guide to Marine Invasions: How Ships Unwittingly Aid—And Combat—Invasive Species -- March 17, 2026 (7-8:30pm) -- For more information and to register, see https://serc.si.edu/events/hitchhiker%E2%80%99s-guide-marine-invasions. Offered by the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center.
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4.) CRC Roundtable: Leveraging Artificial Intelligence to Advance Chesapeake Bay Research and Management -- March 18, 2026 (12-1pm) --For more information and to register, see https://chesapeake.org/crc-roundtable/. Organized by the Chesapeake Research Consortium (CRC).
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5.) Webinar: An Overview of PFAS Transport in the Environment, Challenges, & Management Strategies -- March 18, 2026 (1-2pm) -- This webinar and its recording provides 1 PDH/CEU for self-reporting. For more information and to register, see https://www.awra.org/Members/Events_and_Education/Events_and_Education_Webinars.aspx. Organized by the American Water Resources Association (AWRA).
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6.) Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Tools and Resources Webinar Series: Freshwater Explorer 2.0 -- March 18, 2026 (3-4pm) -- This webinar will show users of the EPA’s Freshwater Explorer platform how to perform geographical searches and visualize background and measured data for water quality parameters. This is useful for states to work with communities and regulated entities. For more information and to register, see https://www.epa.gov/research-states/epa-tools-and-resources-webinar-series. Organized by the EPA.
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7.) Webinar: Horticulture with Real Ecology -- March 18, 2026 (7pm) – Focuses on how density, disturbance, and natural succession shape resilient ecosystems and what that means for native planting in real-world conditions. For more information and to register, see https://wildones.org/joey-santore/. Organized by Wild Ones.
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8.) Women Advancing River Research Seminar Series (virtual) – Monthly, 3rd Thursday (11am) – Learn more and register at https://www.cee.psu.edu/events/women-advancing-river-research.aspx.  Co-hosted by University College Dublin; Caltech; Trent University, Canada; University of Wisconsin, Madison; and Penn State. 
   ++ March 19, 2026 -- Climate impacts on weathering and flow
   ++ April 16, 2026 -- Water at the top of the world
   ++ April 30, 2026 -- Managing for water scarcity in the western U.S.
   ++ May 21, 2026 -- Carbon transport & processing across land-ocean continuum
   ++ June 18, 2026 -- Water quality and water scarcity  
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9.) Chesapeake Stormwater Network (CSN) Webinars -- For more information and to register, see https://chesapeakestormwater.org/events/.
   ++ Assessing and Managing Stormwater Impacts of Solar Installations in Virginia and Central Pennsylvania – March 19, 2026 (12pm)
   ++ Where Clean Water Meets Community: Showcasing Innovation at the Wetlands at Long’s Park – March 26, 2026 (12pm)
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10.) 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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11.) LakeLine -- Issue 45-4: National Lakes Assessment -- This open-access issue highlights the work of those who conduct field work associated with the National Aquatic Resource Surveys (NARS). Available at https://www.nalms.org/lakeline-magazine/. Published by the North American Lake Management Society (NALMS). Learn more about NALMS and become a member at https://www.nalms.org/nalms-memberships.
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12.) ALERT from EPA: U.S. Water Systems should Strengthen Cybersecurity in light of Middle East Activity -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued an alert to ensure that water system owners and operators take necessary steps to strengthen their utility's cybersecurity measures in light of activities in the Middle East. To learn more and view the alert, see https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/drinking-water/2026/03/05/.
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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.