The Florida Water& Climate Alliance welcomes Dr. Ricky Telg as a new member of its Steering Committee. Dr. Telg serves as a professor in the Department of Agricultural Education and Communication and the director of the Center for Public Issues Education at the University of Florida. The Steering Committee is excited to work with Dr. Telg to fulfill the FloridaWCA mission.

Florida is at the forefront of impacts from changing climate, including sea levels, rainfall, and weather events such as hurricanes. Resiliency initiatives are vital to help communities adapt to these changes, safeguarding infrastructure, protecting natural resources, and fostering sustainable economic growth. This hybrid webinar/ workshop cohosted by FloridaWCA and the Florida Flood Hub was attended by 39 experts in person with over 120 others joining virtually for the featured presentations. Presenters highlighted the resiliency efforts across the state, with a deep dive into the collaborative work being done at the Flood Hub through their Sea Level Rise and Rainfall Workgroups.

Approximately 100 participants attended the FloridaWCA webinar “Navigating the Atlantic Hurricane Season: Science, Strategies, and Successes,” held December 3rd. This webinar featured speakers from academia, the Florida Floodplain Managers Association, and water management districts. Topics covered included changes in water quality, economic impacts, return period estimates, flood resilience planning, and strategies for building partnerships to enhance resilience.

Dr. Jasmeet Judge, a Steering Committee Member, and Dr. Hui Wang from Tampa Bay Water, a utility partner of FloridaWCA, highlighted the importance of stakeholder-scientist partnerships for achieving lasting project impact at the NASA Water Resources Team Meeting, held September 17-19 in Cambridge, MA. They participated as panelists and shared the outputs of FloridaWCA’s NASA-funded project integrating NASA Earth Systems data into decision-making tools of member utilities.

Florida is at the forefront of climate change impacts, including rising sea levels, increased rainfall, and extreme weather events like hurricanes. Resiliency initiatives are vital to help communities adapt to these changes, safeguarding infrastructure, protecting natural resources, and fostering sustainable economic growth. This webinar cohosted by FloridaWCA and the Florida Flood Hub highlights the resiliency efforts across the state, with a deep dive into the collaborative work being done at the Flood Hub through their Sea Level Rise and Rainfall Workgroups.

This webinar, co-hosted with Geosyntec Consultants, summarized new research and technological advancements in evaporation measurements, vegetation mapping, suspended sediment models, algal blooms, and hurricane-induced storm surge that provide insight into Lake Okeechobee science and management. Over 100 participants joined the webinar from private industry, water management districts, academic institutions, local, state, federal, and international government agencies, utilities, tribal nations, and non-government organizations.

The Florida Water& Climate Alliance welcomes Dr. Mark Rains as a new member of its Steering Committee. Dr. Rains serves as a professor at the University of South Florida and as the Chief Science Office of the State of Florida for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The Steering Committee is excited to work with Dr. Rains at fulfilling the FloridaWCA’s mission.

Tirusew Asefa, FloridaWCA Chair and Decision Support Manager for Tampa Bay Water, was featured in the July 2024 issue of Water Utility Executive by the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies. In the article titled “Building a Resilient Future: Tampa Bay’s Innovative Approach to Climate Adaptation,” Tirusew emphasized the important role collaboration has in achieving sustainability and adaptability to climate variability and discussed the benefits of sharing resources and data through state-wide initiatives such as FloridaWCA.

This webinar will summarize statewide drought concepts and coordinated response strategies, forecasting groundwater highs and lows under future climate scenarios, and discuss approaches to assessing water supply vulnerability and saltwater intrusion.

Members of the Florida Water and Climate Alliance Steering Committee attended and participated at the 2024 UF Water Institute Symposium on Feb 20 and 21. The Symposium provided an invaluable opportunity for the FloridaWCA to exchange insights and expertise on pressing climate and water-related challenges facing our state. Our Steering Committee members engaged enthusiastically through various avenues including presentations, session moderation, outreach table display, and networking events.