H₂OSU is available at http://water.oregonstate.edu/newsletter/.
April 2006

In the News

"OSU Student Group Takes On Water Project in El Salvador" (OSU College of Engineering, 3/23/06) - On March 25, three engineering students from Oregon State University and an industry professional will board a plane and travel to the Ahuachapan region of El Salvador to perform the first steps of a project to build a water delivery and cleansing system for the rural communities of Las Mercedes and El Naranjito. The area is several miles from a reliable water source, and women and children in the village spend large portions of their days hauling water for basic needs. Facilitating the project is the OSU student chapter of Engineers Without Borders, an organization that at the college level is focused on developing internationally responsible engineering students while undertaking sustainable engineering projects around the globe. Read more...

Warmer winters may melt ski spots (Oregonian, 3/8/06) - This winter's deep snow in the Cascades is a snowboarder's dream, but a new study suggests that ski areas may have fewer such bonanza seasons if Northwest temperatures continue to rise as they have for decades. Projecting warmer weather from a climate model keyed to the Pacific Northwest, researchers at Oregon State University identify 19 ski areas in the Cascade and Olympic mountain areas as being "at risk" of substantially fewer cold, and snowy, winters by midcentury...Past climate studies by others have projected rising temperatures and thinner Northwest snowpacks. But this study, by OSU geographers Anne W. Nolin and Christopher Daly and slated for publication in the Journal of Hydrometeorology, is the first to employ a climate mapping system that identifies relatively small areas in the Cascades where snow might disappear. Read more...

Flooded fields teeming with life - (Corvallis Gazette-Times, 3/8/06) - Mid-Willamette Valley fields and ditches were flooded with much more than water this winter. They also had an unexpectedly high number of small fish, amphibians and birds more commonly found at streams than farm acreage. And those fish thrive in a more comfy wintertime environment than their usual rivers before heading back to the permanent waterways in warmer weather. “The organisms living there are completely adapted to such a change and seasonal access to flooded fields,” said Guillermo Giannico, a fish ecologist with Oregon State University Extension Service. Read more...

Upcoming Events

Tuesday, April 11 4:00PM. Impacts of Dam Removal (OSU Geosciences Seminar). Speaker: Gordan Grant, USDA Forest Service, Departments of Geosciences, Forest Engineering & Forest Science, OSU. Held on campus at Gilfillan Auditorium. FMI: http://www.geo.oregonstate.edu/events/SeminarSeries/Seminar_Current.htm.

Wednesdays, April 12 - June 7, 4:00-5:00PM. 2006 Spring Hydrology Seminar Series “World Class Women in Water”. Students can sign up for course credit: FE 407 R&C/Hydrology Seminar - 38214, FE 507 R&C/Hydrology Seminar - 38215, FE 607 R&C/Hydrology Seminar - 38216. Students can alternatively sign up for course credit through Geosciences (GEO 407 CRN 38232; GEO 507 CNR 38233) and BRE (BRE 507 CRN 38230; BRE 607 38231). Held on campus at Ag Life Sciences 4000. For the complete seminar schedule see: http://water.oregonstate.edu/news/SpringHydro2006.pdf.

Monday, May 22 - Wednesday, May 24. Deschutes Basin Water Summit 2006. The Water Summit's purpose is to enroll a broad array of Deschutes Basin stakeholders in a consensus process to develop a comprehensive water management plan. One of the main objectives of the conference is to communicate the findings of a number of comprehensive studies that focused on the following topics: Ecosystem Flows; Measurement, Monitoring, and Evaluation Systems; Water Conservation; Impacts of Urbanization on Irrigable Lands & Districts; Reservoir Optimization; Municipal Water. The event is organized by The Deschutes Water Alliance Group. Held at Kah Nee Ta Resort & Casino, located on the Warm Springs Indian Reservation in central Oregon. FMI: http://www.swalley.com/.

Get Involved

Tuesdays, April 11 - June 6, 12:00-12:50. Sign up for the weekly Hydrology Journal Club! Receive course credit for discussing a paper each week that's been selected by the Hydrology Seminar Series speaker. Discussions will be held in PVY 024. To receive course credit, sign up for FE 505 - R&C/Hydrology Reading & Conference - CRN 38217. FMI: Jeff McDonnell, jeff.mcdonnell@oregonstate.edu.

Thursday, April 13. 13th Annual Children's Clean Water Festival. The Clean Water Festival is designed for 4th and 5th grade students to learn about water and how it relates to our world. Water experts from Oregon and Washington will work with 4th and 5th graders to explore water science and watershed ecology. If you would like to volunteer to help at the OSU IWW Booth at the Festival, please contact Todd Jarvis, todd.jarvis@oregonstate.edu. 737-4032. Held at Portland Community College - Sylvania. FMI: http://www.cleanwaterfestival.org/.

Funding Opportunities

National Ground Water Research and Educational Foundation Research Grants - Proposals on the following topics are invited : sustainability of ground water resources, ground water rights, drinking water infrastructure alternatives, water testing technology applicable at individual household levels, relationships between ground water industry-related regulations and public benefits. Total dollars to be awarded: $20,000. NGWREF particularly encourages and values those proposals that bridge the gap between research and practical applications of the research findings. Deadline: April 15, 2006. FMI: http://www.ngwa.org/ngwef/ngwef.cfm#proposals

NSF Geosciences - Hydrologic Sciences - This program focuses on terrestrial processes that comprise the hydrologic cycle including evapotranspiration, precipitation, infiltration, overland and streamflow, subsurface percolation and the transport of solutes, nutrients, and particles by these fluxes. This program encourages studies probing the spatial and temporal heterogeneity of water and chemical fluxes and storages from local to global scales – including residence times, interfacial fluxes, pathways among system compartments, and research in geolimnology and hydrologic impacts on microbial communities. HS also supports research in aqueous geochemistry directly connected to hydrologic processes and the physical, chemical, and biological processes taking place as water bodies change. Since the study of hydrologic processes requires expertise from many basic sciences and mathematics, HS encourages interdisciplinary proposals and joint review with related programs. Deadline: June 1, 2006. FMI: http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=13416&org=GEO&from=fund

List of water-related external funding opportunities available on the IWW website...opportunities are arranged by deadline and include short program descriptions and links to RFPs. see: http://water.oregonstate.edu/funding/externalfunding.htm

Featured Student

Rebecca Weaver is a second year MS student in Geosciences working with Dr. Dorthe Wildenschild. Her interests include groundwater management and water resources law and policy. Rebecca's current research is part of the IWW / Institute for Natural Resources project in the Umatilla Basin. She is mapping groundwater data to illustrate declines over the past 50 years and creating a conceptual model of the groundwater system. Her work will aid Umatilla County in the creation of a groundwater management plan and provide outreach materials to educate the residents and water users of the Umatilla Basin.