This past week the American Water Resources Association National Capital Region Section (AWRA-NCRS) held its 8^th annual Water Resources Symposium. Conducted virtually for the first time, the event provides an interactive forum where experts discuss today’s challenges and opportunities in water resources engineering and management. This year’s symposium, attended by over 100 section members and guests, brought together experts from government, academia, and private industry around the theme “Water Management in the Era of Artificial Intelligence: Digital Solutions & Smart Technology Applications.”

Where Great Minds Come Together

Participating in the board of directors for the NCRS is an honor. The opportunity to work with renowned colleagues and respected practitioners in the water resources industry is a reward unto itself, and the events that we host at academic campuses such as Howard University are highlights of our year. At each of these events, the chapter seeks to raise awareness and build community around water resources management by:

1. Providing a forum for professionals to meet and exchange ideas on all aspects of water resources and related fields
2. Promoting advances in water and related resources development, management, and protection
3. Relating the needs of water resource managers, educators, and government agencies to students, professionals, and the larger community

One of the key advantages enjoyed by the NCRS is proximity to the federal government—many of the country’s leading scientists and experts working at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the National Weather Service, the Army Corps of Engineers, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the U.S. Geological Survey are in attendance at events and serve on the board of directors. From a member perspective, AWRA-NCRS events provide opportunities to connect with these leaders to share perspective, common cause, and facilitate discussion around topics central to our work.

The opportunity to work with renowned colleagues and respected practitioners in the water resources industry is a reward unto itself, and the events that we host at academic campuses such as Howard University are highlights of our year. At each of these events, the chapter seeks to raise awareness and build community around water resources management.” Seth Lawler, Mathini Sreetharan, and Shane Putnam

Giving Back to the Profession We Love

The three of us all have a unique story to tell when it comes to our experiences volunteering in a leadership role for the AWRA-NCRS. A highlight for Seth happened at an event in 2017, where Dr. Celso Ferreira of George Mason University connected him with Jason Elliot, the Senior Service Hydrologist at the National Weather Service (NWS). Finding common ground in forecasting flood events in the Potomac River, a collaboration that is still ongoing was born. In the intervening time, Dr. Ferreira’s graduate students have visited the NWS to see first-hand how the coastal storm surge simulation results they produce are evaluated and used in real-time forecasts.

On another occasion, Shane met Seth at an event at George Washington University. Having just completed a PhD in Environmental Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, Shane was considering moving to the Washington, D.C. area. The discussion they had throughout the course of the evening led to him to joining the Dewberry team, providing the opportunity to pursue his passion in engineering and building his skills using computational tools to pioneer innovative methods in hydrologic analysis and resilience studies.

Beyond the work she does on the board of directors, Mathini has encouraged students from the Engineering Ethics courses she teaches at the University of the District of Columbia to attend events and engage with the community they will enter upon graduating and joining the professional industry our organization serves. We’re all proud of the flexibility and drive that our chapter members bring to the table each day, and we encourage people of other disciplines to be similarly open minded in giving back to their profession. We look forward to having new members join our ranks and to see what we can achieve next for the water resources community.

Seth Lawler is the National Capital Region Section president, Mathini Sreetharan is the membership chair, and Shane Putnam is the treasurer.