The 34th Annual Mississippi Water Resources Conference Held in Raymond, Mississippi

April 22, 2004

Jackson, MS - The 34th Annual Mississippi Water Resources Conference was held on April 20-21, 2004 at the Eagle Ridge Conference Center in Raymond, Mississippi. Mississippi State University's GeoResources Institute (GRI) coordinates and co-sponsors the annual conference with the US Geological Survey (Mississippi District Office), the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality's Offices of Land and Water Resources and Pollution Control, and the Mississippi Water Resources Association.

The US Geological Survey's Mississippi District Office presented programs at the conference relating to its 125 years of existence, and sponsored a fascinating historical presentation on the Lewis and Clark expedition, the first of many government surveys of natural resources in the American West.

This year's conference heralded such speakers as Bo Robinson, Northern District Mississippi Public Service Commissioner; State Senator Tommy Moffatt, District 52, Jackson County and chairman of the Senate's Environmental Protection, Conservation & Water Resources committee; State Representative Jamie Franks, Jr., District 19, Lee, Itawamba, and Tishomingo counties and chairman of the House Conservation and Water Resources Committee; and State Representative Diane Peranich, District 121, Harrison County, and member of the Conservation and Water Resources Committee.

"One of the mainstays of the water conference, the volunteered papers and posters, remained a key component this year," stated Dr. David Shaw, director of the GeoResources Institute, "and we had an outstanding group in each category this year. Sessions focused on surface water, groundwater, water contaminants, water policy, and aquatic ecology."

Dr. Jeff Ballweber, GRI's associate director of governmental affairs, organized a panel of experts for the conclusion of the conference, which included distinguished individuals from various agencies such as the Mississippi Department of Health, Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks, Mississippi Soil and Water Conservation Commission, Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, Pearl River Valley Water Supply District, Mississippi Department of Transportation, Pat Harrison Waterway District, Yazoo Mississippi Joint Water Management District, and the Tombigbee River Valley Water Supply District.