WATER E-NEWS Vol. 2 Issue 2 March 2003

Delaware Water Resources Center (DWRC) http://ag.udel.edu/dwrc/

UD Water Resources Agency (WRA) http://www.wr.udel.edu/

Featured in this issue of our monthly Water E-News:

I. 2003 Undergraduate Internships and Jobs in Water Resources from DWRC and more;

II. Announcing 2003 DWRC Graduate Fellowships, plus post-doc and professional opportunities;

III. Project funding and awards programs;

IV. Upcoming seminars and conferences; and

V. New information and training sources in water resources.

I. DWRC 2003 Undergraduate Internship Program: ApplICATIONS DUE MAR. 28, 2003

Only a few days remain for students to apply to earn up to $3000 with a DWRC internship this summer. Please encourage undergraduates to visit the DWRC at http://ag.udel.edu/dwrc/jobs.html for details on current and past projects, current faculty advisors, application materials to submit, and report and poster requirements. Nine faculty to date have come forward with project proposals: Joshua Duke (Limitations on the Clean Water Act), Bruce Vasilas (Wetlands), Scott Andres (two Hydrogeology projects), Ajay Prasad (Engineering and Water Resources), Jack Gingrich (Stormwater), Gerald Kauffman (Stream Habitat Restoration), William Ullman and Joseph Scudlark (Inland Bays-Lewes), and Steven Dentel (Environmental Engineering). George Luther and David Kirchman of the College of Marine Studies have also expressed interest in mentoring interns. Candidates may see the proposals at http://ag.udel.edu/dwrc/jobs/2003-4ProjectProposals.htm.

Reminder: Applications are due Mar. 30, 2003 for ten NSF “Research Experiences for Undergraduates” (REU) research projects in GIS and soil/water resources at the University of Oklahoma June 2 – July 25, 2003. Visit www.geog.okstate.edu/reu/ for details and application.

University of Delaware’s Career Services Campus Jobs web site at https://chico.nss.udel.edu/PTJobs/jobs?action=list lists campus job openings for the academic year, semester or summer. UD employees can list campus job openings at http://www.udel.edu/CSC/. Go to the drop down box titled "shortcuts", click Campus Job and complete the form. For further information contact Marianne Green, 831-1232 or megreen@udel.edu.

II. GRADUATE STUDENT, POST-DOC and PROFESSIONAL OPPORTUNITIES

The Delaware Water Resources Center (DWRC) announces the immediate availability of two graduate fellowships in water resources. The RFP, including proposal criteria and project focus areas, plus a link to current fellows' topics, reports, and contacts, can be obtained from the DWRC web site: http://ag.udel.edu/dwrc/proposals.html. Fellowships will be renewed up to a maximum of three years provided satisfactory progress toward project objectives is maintained. The maximum budget awarded by the DWRC includes a stipend of $17,000 plus $2,000 for travel expenses and supplies annually for each graduate fellow. A 2:1 match is required for all proposals. Proposals approved by OVPR must be submitted to Dr. Tom Sims (jtsims@udel.edu) by May 16, 2003.

Assistant / Associate Professor Job Opening in Soil Fertility and Nutrient Management, Ohio State University's College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences is accepting applications until April 30, 2003 or position is filled. The faculty position within the School of Natural Resources is responsible for developing and providing leadership for statewide extension outreach programming in soil fertility and nutrient management. Info: http://jobs.chronicle.com/id.php?id=251908.

The Naval Research Laboratory at Stennis Space Center, MS (NRL-SSC) seeks applications for a senior marine biogeochemist with emphasis in the areas of organic geochemistry, environmental/marine microbiology, or a closely related field to serve as the senior investigator for basic and applied biogeochemical research programs throughout NRL as well as leader of the Marine Biogeochemistry Group at NRL-SSC. For details visit http://www7430.nrlssc.navy.mil or contact mike.richardson@nrlssc.navy.mil. See http://hroffice.nrl.navy.mil/jobs/vacancy.htm, vacancy announcement DM-NRL-03-0138-NR, for details and application instructions, or call 215-408-5264. The salary range for this position is $77,382 to $120,245.

III. PROJECT FUNDING AND AWARDS

The USDA’s Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) Integrated Research, Education, and Extension Competitive Grants Program provides funding for integrated, multifunctional agricultural research, extension, and education activities. Funding is announced through a separate Request for Applications (RFA) for each program. CSREES is soliciting fiscal year (FY) 2003 applications for the Water Quality, Food Safety and Integrated Pest Management areas of this Program. Water Quality applications must be received by close of business on April 21, 2003. For details visit:

http://www.reeusda.gov/1700/funding/rfaintegrated_03.htm.

Call for PreProposals from the Northeast Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) program, which funds research and education grants and professional development grants. A SARE preproposal is a brief, one-page summary of key project themes and results. Only those whose preproposal has been approved can go on to develop a full proposal. Specific interest this year is in projects that address sustainable livestock production, dairy economic viability and profitability, the sale of foods to local institutions, farm labor management, and the transition to a new farm enterprise. Materials are available at www.uv,.edu/~nesare. Click "grant and application information" and download the forms and instructions. For printed materials, call or e-mail 802/656-0471 and nesare@uvm.edu. Preproposals must be postmarked by May 16, 2003. For SARE’s brochure on sustainable agriculture, visit http://www.sare.org/bulletin/explore/exploring.pdf

The 2003 EPA Clean Water Act Recognition Awards Competition recognizes municipalities and industries for outstanding and innovative technological achievements through their waste treatment and pollution abatement programs, projects or activities. The program includes awards in five categories including outstanding operations and maintenance at wastewater treatment facilities, biosolids management, pretreatment, storm water management and combined sewer overflow controls. Nominees must be in compliance with appropriate water quality requirements (where applicable), and otherwise have a satisfactory record with respect to environmental quality. Nominations are due to the Office of Wastewater Management by May 30, 2003. For more details see http://www.epa.gov/OWM/mtb/intnet.htm or call Maria Campbell at 202-564-0628.

IV. LOCAL SEMINARS / CONFERENCES

Department of Plant and Soil Sciences and Institute of Soil and Environmental Quality seminar series. Fridays, 1:25 p.m., 132 Townsend Hall, University of Delaware. For map see: http://www.publications.udel.edu/UDmap/townsend.html

"Research Needs in the Plant and Soil Sciences: Perspective of Cooperative Extension", Mar. 28^th 2003. Ed Kee will present an overview of perspectives sought from all extension staff on research needs for Delaware in the Plant and Soil Sciences. An informal discussion/social event immediately after the seminar will provide an opportunity for further discussion and interaction between research, teaching, and extension faculty and staff members.

“Multifractal Analysis of Soil Heterogeneity”, Apr. 25^th, 2003. Daniel Gimenez of the Department of Environmental Sciences, Rutgers University, will present.

University of Delaware College of Marine Studies and the Department of Geology Birdsall-Dreiss Lecture Series April 9 and 10, 2003, supported by an endowment fund of the Geological Society of America and is coordinated by the Hydrogeology Division of GSA. Dr. Jean Bahr, Professor of Hydrogeology, University of Wisconsin will speak.

“Groundwater as an Ecosystem Resource”, Apr. 9th, 4:00 p.m., 202 Cannon Lab, Lewes with ITV connection to 206 Robinson Hall on the Newark campus.

"Geochemical Heterogeneity of Groundwater in Uncontaminated and Contaminated Aquifers", Apr. 10th, 3:30 p.m., Department of Geology, 209 Penny Hall.

Abstracts of both presentations are available at http://www.geology.wisc.edu/~jmbahr/birdabs.html.

Biographical information concerning the lecturer is available at: http://www.geology.wisc.edu/people/display.html?id=4.

Maps of the lecture sites respectively are found at http://www.ocean.udel.edu/level1/ship/cannon/cannon.html, http://www.publications.udel.edu/UDmap/robinson.html, and http://www.publications.udel.edu/UDmap/penny.html.

“Saving Our Coastal Heritage” Conference on Coastal and Estuarine Habitat Restoration, April 13-16, 2003, Baltimore, MD. Register at http://www.estuaries.org/nationalconference.php. Program details may be found at http://www.estuaries.org/programs.php.

University of Delaware Undergraduate Scholars Research Poster Session, with the 2002-2003 DWRC interns. Apr. 25^th, 2003, 2:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m., University of Delaware Trabant University Center Multipurpose Rooms A, B & C. Sponsored by Undergraduate Research Program. For a map visit http://www.publications.udel.edu/UDmap/trabant.html.

National Workshop On Subaqueous Soils, July 14-18, 2003, Georgetown and Rehoboth Bay, DE. Visit http://www.agnr.umd.edu/sawgal/SubaqSoils/workshop/workshop.html

OTHER UPCOMING CONFERENCES

Aquatic Resources in Arid Lands (ARIAL) Conference, April 30 - May 2, 2003, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM. For program description and registration see http://leopold.nmsu.edu/dcowley/ARIAL_conference.htm.

“Breaking the Barriers: Let water information flow!”6^th Water Information Summit (WIS 6) September 9-12, 2003, Delft, Netherlands. Early registration is possible until May 2, 2003. Call for Abstracts: new deadline is April 18, 2003. Two authors will be awarded free Summit registration, travel and lodging expenses! http://www.irc.nl/news/wis6.html

“Bogs, Playas, Pools: Protect America's Unique Wetlands” American Wetlands Conference, May 1-4, 2003, Minneapolis, Minnesota, sponsored by Isaak Walton League. Visit http://www.iwla.org/sos/awm/conference or email awm@iwla.org for more information.

American Water Resources Association (AWRA) Conferences:

· “Agricultural Hydrology and Water Quality”, May 12-14, 2003, Kansas City, MO. For agenda, click “Preliminary Program” at http://www.awra.org/meetings/Kansas2003/.

· International Congress on Watershed Management for Water Supply Systems, June 29 - July 2, 2003, Millennium Hotel Broadway New York, NY. Contact: harriette@awra.org or http://www.awra.org.

· AWRA Annual Conference, November 2 – 5, 2003, Hilton San Diego, CA. Contact: harriette@awra.org or http://www.awra.org.

EPA 2003 National Source Water Protection (SWP) Conference, June 2-4, 2003, Hotel Washington, Washington, DC. For details, an agenda, or to register, visit http://www.epa.gov/safewater/protect/swpconf.html or call the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791. There is no registration fee, but advance sign-up is required.

V. NEW WATER RESOURCES INFORMATION / TRAINING SOURCES

Newly released reports:

The Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc. (CUAHSI) has a new acting Executive Director who has already submitted a proposal for core funding to NSF and wrapped up the first draft of the Science Plan, aimed at advancing the understanding of the hydrosphere and its interactions with the atmosphere, geosphere and biosphere. Click “News” and “newsletter” at http://www.cuahsi.org/ for the latest news from the Consortium, of which the University of Delaware is a member. Local contacts are Paul Imhoff (imhoff@UDel.Edu) and Jim Pizzuto (pizzuto@UDel.Edu).

New USDA report: “Agricultural Resources and Environmental Indicators” identifies trends in land, water, and biological resources and commercial input use, reports on the condition of natural resources used in the agricultural sector, and describes and assesses public policies that affect conservation and environmental quality in agriculture. http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/arei/arei2001/

Renewable Natural Resources Foundation (RNRF)’s Congress Report on Nonpoint Source Water Pollution. See publications link at http://www.rnrf.org/. RNRF is a consortium of 16 professional, scientific, and educational organizations which conducts national meetings and workshops, legislative briefings, public-policy roundtables, international outreach activities, and a national awards program.

Proceedings of the third National Conference on Science, Policy, and the Environment (NCSE), recently held on Jan.30-31, 2003. NCSE has been working since 1990 to improve the scientific basis for environmental decision making and is supported by over 500 academic, scientific, environmental, and business organizations, and by federal, state, and local government. See http://www.ncseonline.org/

AWRA actions to alert the federal government about national water issues facing the US are described at at http://ens-news.com/ens/jan2003/2003-01-09-09.asp. The National Water Policy dialogue at which such issues were raised was held in Sept.2002.

Helpful websites:

The EPA is compiling a directory of all drinking water publications, fact sheets, websites, and other references regarding source water protection and drinking water issues. Please forward the citation for documents to Jori Copeland at Copeland.jori@epamail.epa.gov. The directory to date is found at http://www.epa.gov/OGWDW/Pubs/.

F. X. Browne, an environmental consulting firm with experience in lake and watershed management, water and wastewater engineering, environmental planning, and stormwater management, offers a helpful monthly water newsletter (see http://www.fxbrowne.com/html/newsletters/news_march03.htm).

March is Nonpoint Source Awareness Month. EPA’s website has many promotional items available for downloading to promote awareness about nonpoint source pollution prevention, including a poster, fact sheets, a crossword puzzle placemat that encourages restaurant patrons to “take the stormwater runoff challenge,” and a pop-up sponge to promote low-impact development. Visit www.epa.gov/water/yearofcleanwater for information and an order form. A Wastewater Month CD designed to help municipalities conduct their own outreach campaigns and raise awareness on important wastewater issues including proper septic system management and the importance of wastewater infrastructure in our daily lives may be ordered by email from Nikos Singelis: singelis.nikos@epa.gov or visit www.epa.gov/npdes/wastewatermonth. Included are “A Homeowner's Guide to Septic Systems”, “Where Does All the Dirty Water Go?”, Kid's Posters: "How Do We Treat Our Wastewater" -Two versions with either middle or elementary school lesson plans on the back (black and white or color), “Wastewater Treatment Programs Serving Small Communities”, “Funding Decentralized Wastewater Systems Using the Clean Water State Revolving Fund” and “Use of the Clean Water State Revolving Fund to Implement Security Measures at Publicly-Owned Treatment Works” fact sheets.

Environmental Indicator Technical Assistance Series http://www.pepps.fsu.edu/segip/catalog/ assists state environmental agencies in improving their environmental management capabilities through the development of environmental goals and indicators and integrating them into their environmental management systems. Both federal and state data sources are included.

U. S. Geological Survey sites reflect unusual water conditions for February 2003. Record-setting snowfall led to nearly double the amount of normal total precipitation in February and left water levels in streams and wells at high levels across Maryland and Delaware, say hydrologists at the Baltimore U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). If temperatures had not stayed cool, there was the potential for the kind of major flooding that occurred in 1996 when there was rainfall on top of snow. Real-time streamflow data essential to gauging stream response to runoff and to monitoring possible flooding may be found at http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/rt. National Weather Service flood forecasting information is at http://water.usgs.gov/wid/FS_209-95/mason-weiger.html. For five-year monthly streamflow hydrographs, visit the USGS website at http://md.water.usgs.gov/surfacewater/streamflow/. For information specific to water conditions and |the Chesapeake Bay, visit http://chesapeake.usgs.gov/. For 5-year hydrographs of groundwater levels across Maryland and Delaware, visit http://md.water.usgs.gov/groundwater/. An excellent source for reservoir, streamflow and groundwater levels in Maryland and Delaware is http://md.water.usgs.gov/waterwatch.

USGS Spanish language educational materials:

“EL AGUA ES IMPORTANTE?guia de maestro sobre recursos de agua, Volumen 3” is a Spanish translation of an educational kit that includes a teacher's guide and a set of creative and colorful designed to help primary and middle-school teachers satisfy the National Science Education Standards. Copies of the Spanish publication can be ordered free of charge from the EPA National Center for Environmental Publications at 1-800-490-9198 or order online at http://www.epa.gov/ncepihom/ordering.htm. Use EPA Publication Order Number: 171-K-02-001. Copies of the English publication “Water Matters Volume 3” can be ordered for a nominal fee from the National Science Teachers Association by calling 1-800-277-5300 or order from the on-line Science Store at http://www.nsta.org.

EPA providing Satellite training:

In response to a request from the State Drinking Water Administrators, the EPA's Office of Water developed and conducted satellite training on the Arsenic and Surface Water Treatment Rules. The real time broadcast was transmitted to 150 designated downlink sites (and an estimated 1,500 people) throughout the nation on Jan. 29-30. This first attempt of EPA satellite training, which offers an efficient and cost effective solution to the travel restrictions and budget constraints faced by EPA and state drinking water programs, has received very positive feedback. The Office of Water is exploring options for other training that can be given through the satellite format. Presentation materials are still available on the satellite training site at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/dwa/satellite.html

In Memoriam: John R. Mather, Ph.D. (1923 – 2003), Professor Emeritus of the Department of Geography, University of Delaware, died Friday, January 3, 2003. A geographer and climatologist, he was one of the foremost leaders in the field of applied climatology, meteorology, and water resources. Details: http://www.udel.edu/PR/UDaily/01-02/mather.html

We welcome those receiving this e-newsletter for the first time. Contributions, comments and questions are welcomed. To unsubscribe from this DWRC monthly e-newsletter, reply to this e-mail with "Unsubscribe Water E-News” in the subject line.

DWRC’s Water E-News is published monthly by the Delaware Water Resources as a service to citizens interested in topics on Delaware water resources. Our address at the University of Delaware is 152 Townsend Hall, Newark, DE 19717-1303. Phone: 302- 831-1392; fax: 302-831-0605; Web: http://ag.udel.edu/dwrc/ Dr. Tom Sims, Director, email jtsims@udel.edu; Amy Boyd, Program Coordinator, email aboyd@udel.edu.