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April 28, 2006
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Welcome
to the newsletter about all things water in Montana!
MONTANA WATER
NEWS will come your way via email every month with fresh news about meetings
and water topics that we hope is of interest to you. If you do not want to receive
this newsletter, please scroll down and follow the directions to unsubscribe.
If you are seeing only text in this email, or if it's not easy to read, please make
sure your email program is set to view "HTML" messages, or view
the newsletter online in the newsletter archives. |
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| Excellence
in Training = Healthy Water |
Valve testing during
a METC workshop. |
In 1988, Montana State
University-Northern and the Montana Department of Environmental Quality saw a
need for an environmental training and resource center. With financial help from
the EPA, and collaboration between the school and the State, the Montana Environmental
Training Center (METC) was born.
The organization’s
mission is to coordinate, develop and implement effective training for water and
wastewater operators and other environmental and public health professionals. Entry-level
training, operator certifications, and occupational safety training are some of the
offerings.
The Center has a new
director. Gary Hall, the former training and development specialist, took on this
position in October, 2005. Hall is a chemist and zoologist by education who turned
his Missoula upbringing into a love of the environment. He is an avid outdoorsman
and member of the National Ski Patrol. A five-member committee that guides the Center
and includes two MSU-Northern representatives, two Montana Department of Environmental
Quality representatives and one at-large member.
Last month the Center
provided classes on backflow testing, chlorine level monitoring, and safety while
working in confined spaces. Check the out the website for more info about the METC
at http://www.msun.edu/grants/metc/index.asp. |
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Do
you have more news?
Many
Montana Water News articles are generated by the Montana Water Center’s new student
intern, Evan Tennant. Evan is studying public policy at Montana State University
with a special interest in water policy. He spends what free time he has writing
stories for this e-newsletter. Do you have some stories of interest you would like
him to feature? If so, please contact Evan at ewtennant@montana.edu. He’d like to
hear from you. |
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| Xiaobing
Zhou Thinks about the Big Picture |
Xiaobing Zhou. |
When looking for soil
moisture in the dry eastern portion of the state, one Montana Tech professor thinks
bigger is better. Xiaobing Zhou, an assistant professor in geophysical engineering,
believes that satellite imaging of the soil moisture six centimeters below the earth’s
surface can show us some interesting trends. Using a Synthetic Equation Radar (SAR)
from space, the entire state can be examined and photographed with water in mind.
The data collected can help farmers and ranchers immensely. Professor Zhou uses the
data to develop algorithms for Montana producers -- specific calculations for predicting
soil water trends. He is also hoping to map the entire state so he can watch snow
cover during its accumulation and decay. According to Dr. Zhou, this large scale
radar imagery provides “bigger picture” answers and is very exciting as trends in
precious resources are better mapped and monitored for future generations. To find
out more about Xiaobing Zhou and his research, see his website at: http://www.mtech.edu/geophysics/xzhou/index.html |
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| Virtual
System Explorer |
The
newly-released Virtual System Explorer 2006, a product of the Montana Water Center,
is a DVD training program that simulates small water system operations and tracks
user progress. Users learn the basics of drinking-water system operations, as well
as how to recognize system deficiencies, perform a security risk assessment and improve
the system’s financial and management capacity. Three systems are featured in this
program--an untreated ground-water system, a treated ground-water system and a surface-water
system. Some if its ingenious features include:
- exploration activities
allowing you to experience operation scenarios in a virtual environment
- video tours
showcasing actual small water systems from source to sink
- a thorough overview
of public water system operations
- a glossary with need-to-know
terminology
- a tracking function
for users who will be applying for continuing-education credits
Find more about the
Virtual System Explorer at http://watercenter.montana.edu/training/ve/default.htm. |
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| MWCC
Awards Ceremony |
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You are invited to attend
the Montana Watershed Coordination Council’s Annual Awards Meeting at the Capitol
Rotunda in Helena on May 16, 2006. The work of the Upper Clark Fork Steering Committee
will be featured along with a special award presentation to a noted steward of watersheds.
Presentations begin at 9:00 a.m. and lunch is complementary if you contact Jennifer
Boyer at jboyer@sonoran.org before May 10.
For more information and to download the agenda click
here. |
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| Call
for Papers - Annual Montana Water Conference |
The Montana Water Center
and the officers of the Montana Section of the American Water Resources Association
recently released a Call for Abstracts for the October 12 and 13, 2006 annual Montana
Water meeting in Polson, Montana. For more information about the meeting and the
Call for Abstracts, please review the Montana AWRA website at http://awra.org/state/montana/
events/conference.htm. |
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| Governor's
Drought Report |
| You
can view online the latest report from the Governor’s Office on drought. Entitled
The Potential for Drought in Montana, this study was prepared by the Montana Drought
Advisory Committee. Download the full report, DRTGovRptPot2006.pdf [568
KB], or go to Montana's official drought website at http://drought.mt.gov/reports/default.asp. |
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| Don't
Forget: |
| The
National AWRA meeting, Adaptive Management of Water Resources, will be held
in Missoula on June 26-28, 2006. Find more at http://awra.org/meetings/Montana2006/index.html.
The Governor’s Restoration
Forum on June 8 and 9, 2006 will be offered in conjunction with the 10th Annual Billings
Land Reclamation Forum on June 4 - 8, 2006. Go to http://www.restoration.mt.gov for
the latest information. |
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So
many meetings, so little time. Take special note of upcoming national and local water
meetings on the Events
Calendar at MONTANA WATER. |
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 River
Short Courses 2006, Nationwide Locations, 2006 Year-round
[INFO] |
Water
Summit for Teachers and Students, Paradise Valley, May 1 - 2, 2006
[INFO] |
4th
Annual Slow Sand and Alternative Biological Filtration Conference, Mulhiem an der
Ruhr, Germany, May 3 - 5, 2006
[INFO] |
MWCC
Monitoring Workgroup Meeting, Helena, May 3, 2006
[INFO] |
Adaptive
Management For Resilient Water Resources, Lincoln, NE, May 4 - 5, 2006
[INFO] |
River
Network Seventh Annual: National River Rally 2006, Bretton Woods, NH, May 5 - 9,
2006
[INFO] |
5th
National Monitoring Conference, San Jose, CA, May 7 - 11, 2006
[INFO] |
Dam
Safety In The West 2006, Overland Park, KS, May 7 - 9, 2006
[INFO] |
2006
GIS Specialty Conference, Houston, TX, May 8 - 10, 2006
[INFO] |
Collaborating
in The Current, Sioux City, NE, May 9 - 12, 2006
[INFO] |
2006
American Fisheries Society Western Division Meeting, Bozeman, May 15 - 19, 2006
[INFO] |
2006
Montana Watersheds Awards Ceremony, Helena, May 16, 2006
[INFO] |
MWCC
E&O Committee Meeting, Helena, June 1, 2006
[INFO] |
Billings
Land Reclamation Symposium 2006, Billings, June 4 - 6, 2006
[INFO] |
11th
Annual Contaminated and Hazardous Waste Site Management, Toronto, Ontario, June 12
- 16, 2006
[INFO] |
Watershed
Tour on Collaborative Education, Bozeman, June 19 - 23, 2006
[INFO] |
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