Fall 2011 President's Message

Winter may have started, but things are heating up for the Pennsylvania State Section of AWRA. On behalf of the entire Board of Directors, I think I can say that the Section feels re-energized following our 2011 Annual Conference. Ben Pratt, our out-going president, set the stage for the conference noting that the American Water Resources Association is focused on “Community, Conversations, Connections,” and the conference provided a great deal of dialogue on the challenges and opportunities in water resources in our Commonwealth.

Thanks again to all the participants and speakers for helping to make our Annual Conference such a success this past October. We had a total of 36 attendees, including the 8 speakers, and more than 20 students from the Harrisburg Area Community College who joined us for part of the morning and afternoon session. The presentations covered many of the critical issues facing Pennsylvania’s water resources professions, including:

Nutrient trading with a focus on cost-effective solutions;
Engaging communities to become stewards of their local and regional water resources;
Supporting people and companies through plan development and implementation;
Setting goals and establishing a framework for non-traditional watershed partners;
Removing dams that are not providing significant benefits for the communities; and
Creating easy to use and reliable tools for professionals and the public to access information of water quality, stream conditions, and flood flows.

Although the presentations and presenters were varied, the key points often returned to focus on improving the quality of life for Pennsylvania’s residents through effective management of our water resources.

As I begin my term as President of our Section, I’d like to thank Ben Pratt who has served for these past three years at the helm of PA-AWRA. I’d also like to thank Jim Campbell and John Fulton for their service as the Susquehanna Basin Director and Ohio Basin Director, respectively. Both Jim and John have put many years of service into the Board and we owe them a debt of gratitude for their hard work on the Board. We welcome Andrew Dehoff as Vice-President, Lisa Hollingsworth-Segedy as the Ohio Basin Director, and John Shuman as the Susquehanna Basin Director. Continuing their service as Directors are Patricia Craig as our Newsletter Editor and Website Coordinator, Dale Glatfelter as the Secretary/Treasurer, and Elizabeth Boyer as Penn State’s Student Chapter Advisor.

I am looking forward to this upcoming year. Our Board is continuing to work on programs, including live events and webinars, to improve our “Community, Conversations, Connections.” I would be happy to hear from you with any ideas or concerns about how our Section can better serve you and our communities. Please feel free to reach out to me by email (cthomas@chesco.org) or on the phone (610.344.5400)
Looking forward to a great year!

Craig Thomas