IWRA Info

Who We Are

The Indiana Water Resources Association (IWRA) was founded in 1979 as a state affiliate of the American Water Resources Association to promote water resources research, education, and communication in Indiana. The IWRA is an organization of several hundred professionals and students working in all aspects of water resources. Its members include scientists, engineers, regulators, educators, policy-makers, and students from government agencies, universities, industry, consulting firms, and other water related groups.

Issues and Activities

Over the years, the IWRA's forums have focused on the emerging and imminent water resources issues in Indiana- from the effects of coal mining in the southwest to hazardous waste sites in the northwest, from rising water levels in Lake Michigan to flooding along the Ohio River; plus statewide issues like wellhead protection, drought, acid rain, and water quality standards.

To exchange information,provide faster discussion, and explain research on these and other issues, the IWRA holds a multi-day meeting each year in June at varying locations throughout the state. These annual meetings alternate between symposia and field trips The symposia include presentations and short courses by members and nationally recognized experts; followed the next year by field trips to natural features, industrial sites, and cultural and historical locations.

The symposia offer professionals and students an opportunity to share findings or news of their work through lectures and published proceedings.

The field trips provide guides transportation, special access, and first-hand information regarding water resources at unique places in the state.

A meeting is also held each fall for election of officers and other business, followed by a short seminar or field trip.

One of the main goals of IWRA is to facilitate communication and the exchange of information within the water-resources community of Indiana. Please view our conferences as an opportunity to present your work, in a relatively informal atmosphere, to Indiana's water-resource professionals.

Because many of our members do not regularly attend national meetings, we encourage you to present papers that you may have given previously at national or regional professional meetings.

Titles of past IWRA meetings, their locations, and organizing President of IWRA that year have been:

• 1980: Water Resources and Land Use Management in Indiana, Turkey Run State Park (Bill Wilber, USGS)
• 1981: Second Annual Symposium; topics included lake and wetlands hydrology, McCormick's Creek State Park (Bill Wilber, USGS)
• 1982: Water: Indiana's Abundant Resource, South Bend (Darrell Leap, Purdue University)
• 1883: Topics in Hydrology: Theory and Application, Turkey Run State Park ( Charles Crawford, USGS)
• 1984: 5th Annual Symposium; topics included acid rain and water management, Bloomington, IN (Noel Krothe, Indiana University)
• 1985: Karst Hydrology; field trips from Spring Mill State Park to Lost River, French Lick, etc. (Paul K.M. van der Heijde, Holcomb Research Inst.)
• 1986: Managing the Great Lakes, Pokagon State Park (Tom Bruns, IDNR)
• 1987: Water Resources and Environmental Issues in NW Indiana, field trips from Michigan City to Pinhook Bog, Mt. Baldy, and Lake Michigan (Robert Aten, Geosciences Research Associates, Inc.)
• 1988: Water Resources: from Science to Regulationi, Depauw University (Konrad Banaszak, USGS)
• 1989: Effects of Coal Mining on Water Resources, field trips from Vincennes to active and reclaimed mine sites (Judith Beaty, IDNR)
• 1990: Conjunctive Surface Water and Ground Water Studies, Brown County State Park (Henk Haitjema, Indiana University)
• 1991: Hydrology of South-Central Indiana, field trips from Clarksville to Harrison Spring, Indian Sinks, Falls of the Ohio and Other Sites (Richard Powell, WW Engineering and Science)
• 1992: Water Quality and Its Effects On Human and Biological Health, Turkey Run State Park (Jeff Martin, USGS)
• 1993: Northwest Indiana Water Quality Opportunities and Concerns, field trips from Hammond to Superfund sites, LTV Steel, Amoco Refinert, Lake Michigan marinas, Wolf Lake, etc. (Mark Reshkin, IUPUN)
• 1994: Understanding, Managing, and Protecting Indiana's Watersheds, Spring Mill State Park (Rosie Hansell, Marion County Health Department)
• 1995: Agriculture and Water Quality: Life in the stream and life on the farm; field trips to modern farms and Purdue Univ. research farms (Marty Risch, USGS)
• 1996: Environmental Restoration, Clifty Falls State Park (Ron Turco, Purdue University)
• 1997: Flood Damage Reduction Strategies for the 21st Century: field trips to Ft. Wayne flood projects, France Stone Company Quarry, Sylvan Lake Dam, etc. (Siavash Beik, Christopher Burke Engineering)
• 1998: Source Water Protection and Assessment Programs, McCormick's Creek State Park (Greg Nethery, Engineering and Testing Services, Inc.)
• 1999: Field trips to Kentland Stone Quarry, Nature Conservancy Property in Newton Cty, City of Delphi, etc (Mark Basch, IDNR)
• 2000: Improving and Protecting Water Quality: Assessment Regulation, and Policy, Spring Mill State Park (Cyndi Wagner, IDEM)
• 2001: Indiana Water: Its History, Today and Tomorrow, field trips to Pakota Lake and River region and facilities, Augusta Lake, a reclaimed mine, etc. (Don Arvin, USGS)
• 2002: Water Quality and Water Rights in the Midwest: Converging Regulation, Technology, and Demand, Pokagon State Park (Jack Wittman, Wittman Hydro Planning Associates, Inc.)
• 2003: Field trip through the Whitewater River watershed. (Tracy Branam, IGS)
• 2004: Watershed Science, Management and Education on All Scales (Ken Luther, Valparaiso University)
• 2005: Brine Injections From Oil and Gas Production, and Other Resource Issues for Southwestern Indiana (Phil Ward, Groundwater Environmental Services, Inc)
• 2006: Energizing Indiana's Water Community (Jane Frankenberger, Purdue University)

Student Scholarships

IWRA sponsors a Student Scholarship Fund, designed to provide assistance to students at Indiana colleges and universities who present a paper at the Spring Symposium. Scholarships of at least $250 will be awarded to select students presenting papers at this year's symposium.

By-Laws