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Course Overview
 As
water quality has become a leading concern for people and
ecosystems worldwide, it is critical to properly assess
water quality in order to protect water resources for
current and future generations. Water quality assessment
depends on effective sampling and analytical procedures, as
well as appropriate experimental design, data analysis, and
presentation. The objective of this course is to provide
innovative and current information for those who are
currently or planning to conduct water quality research. The
training will cover a wide range of water quality topics,
from water quality regulations and criteria, project
planning, sampling for surface water, groundwater, coastal
water, pore water, field measurements, and laboratory
analysis. Cutting edge topics such as emerging pollutants,
uncertainty in measured data, isotope nutrient sourcing, and
statistical analysis will also be covered. Although this
program will focus on nutrients as they are a leading source
of impairment and a state wide concern due to the new water
quality numeric criteria, most information would be
applicable to other target constituents.
 To
provide attendees with the best instruction, speakers were
selected based on their expertise and therefore are from a
variety of backgrounds and locations. Experts are from such
institutions and agencies as UF/IFAS, USDA Agricultural
Research Service (ARS), South Florida Water Management
District (SFWMD), US Geological Survey (USGS), Everglades
National Park (ENP), Miami-Dade Environmental Resource
Management (DERM), and National Oceanic & Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA). Leaders of the UF IFAS Best
Management Practices Coordination Group are also on the
agenda to bring attendees the latest on UF IFAS
perspectives. The week-long training includes tours of
University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural
Sciences (UF/IFAS) research facilities and exposure to
current water quality activities in south Florida. Attendees
will visit the Everglades National Park (ENP), UF/IFAS
Tropical Research and Education Center (TREC), South Florida
Water Management pump station, and wetlands via an airboat.
The networking and professional relationship building that
occur throughout the course will be further developed in the
breakout sessions at the end of the program. The goal of the
breakout sessions is to explore potential collaborations for
future RFAs. |
