On April 4th, the Center for Watershed Protection hosted the second National Watershed and Stormwater Conference. This unique conference united online participation via national webcast with in-person discussion at our local hubs in Baltimore, Maryland; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and Omaha, Nebraska. We wanted to share a quick wrap-up and testimonials about this annual event!

Who was there

In total, more than 230 people attended came more than 25 states from California to Connecticut and even from Puerto Rico and Canada!

More than 165 registrants from federal, state and local government agencies, consulting firms, universities and non-profits came to participate and learn face to face. The conference also attracted 65 online attendees.

Laura Walker, from Savannah, Georgia attended online and said: “This is the second of the Center’s conferences that I’ve gone to and the topics were really, really good. It’s one of the better and more innovative workshops that I have attended.”

What we learned
According to one in-person attendee: “The material was interesting, and the speakers were all very well-qualified and organized.”

Major national topics included:

  • The State of Our Watersheds
  • Innovation in Practice – Integrated Water Resources Management and Implementation
  • Emerging Tools in Watershed Protection, Restoration, and Implementation

The local hubs also included presentations on local stormwater and watershed concerns. Some of these topics included:

  • The Future of Urban Watershed Management
  • Chesapeake Bay TMDL 2017 Midpoint Assessment: Building the Capacity for Success in the Phase III WIPs
  • A Pilot Assessment of Stream Temperature for an Impaired Waterway
  • Road Salts in the Baltimore Reservoir Systems
  • Scaling Up Green Infrastructure in Washington, DC
  • Agriculture’s Role in Maryland’s Nutrient Trading Program
  • Local Stormwater Funding Opportunities – A Panel Discussion
  • Green Infrastructure in New Jersey

How the conference was made possible

Support from 14 industry sponsors helped make the annual conference a great success. Thanks to:

Anderson, Davis & Associates; Chesapeake Bay Trust; Day Deadrick Marshall Insurance Agents; Ecotone; Environmental Quality Resources, LLC; Furbish; Red Chair; Resource Environmental Solutions, LLC; Straughan Environmental, Inc.; Stormwater Maintenance; Storm Water Systems, Inc; The Hatcher Group; Watershed Consulting Associates; Wetlands Studies & Solutions