WaterTalk: Stakeholder-driven modeling in support of groundwater sustainability: The Floridan Aquifer Collaborative Engagement for Sustainability (FACETS) Project

As part of the Water Institute's WaterTalks lecture series, Wendy D. Graham, Carl S. Swisher Eminent Scholar in Water Resources in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering and Director of the Water Institute at the University of Florida, Gainesville, presents, "Stakeholder-Driven Modeling in Support of Groundwater Sustainability: the Floridan Aquifer Collaborative Engagement for Sustainability (FACETS) Project."

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The Upper Floridan Aquifer (UFA) is among the largest, most productive aquifers in the world and is a vital regional resource shared between Florida, Georgia, and Alabama. The UFA supports agricultural activities worth >$7.5 billion and supplies drinking water to more than 10 million people but faces significant threats to water quality and quantity, which could potentially harm food security, fiber production, and vital ecosystem services.  The Floridan Aquifer Collaborative Engagement for Sustainability (FACETS) project is bringing scientists and a diverse group of stakeholders together in a Participatory Modeling Process (PMP) to understand the economic-environmental tradeoffs associated with alternative climate, land use, agricultural Best Management Practice (BMP) adoption, and policy scenarios, with the ultimate goal of understanding changes needed to achieve agricultural water security and environmental protection. Scenario analyses results are being incorporated into public willingness-to-pay and producer willing-to-accept surveys to develop BMP adoption/land use change supply and demand curves, which will inform the development of policies and incentives to bring about changes in land use and water management. This presentation will highlight successes  and challenges of the first two years of this five-year project.

Speaker bio

Wendy D. Graham is the Carl S. Swisher Eminent Scholar in Water Resources in the Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering and Director of the Water Institute at the University of Florida, Gainesville.  She has a B.S. in environmental engineering from the University of Florida, and a Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.  Her current research focuses on integrated hydrologic modeling; groundwater resources evaluation and remediation; evaluation of impacts of agricultural production on surface and groundwater quality; evaluation of impacts of climate variability and climate change on hydrologic systems; and stochastic modeling and data assimilation.

Dr. Graham is currently a member of the National Academic of Sciences Water Science and Technology Board, and was recently appointed by the Florida Governor to the State of Florida Blue Green Algae Task Force. She served as the Hydrologic Sciences Program Director for the National Science Foundation in 2015-2016, and as Chair of the University of Florida Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department from 2003-2006.  In her current role as Director of the UF Water Institute she coordinates campus-wide interdisciplinary research, education and outreach programs designed to develop and share new knowledge, and to develop and encourage the implementation of new technology and policy solutions needed to ensure a sustainable water future. 

The University of Waterloo is committed to achieving barrier-free accessibility for persons with disabilities who are visiting, studying or working at Waterloo. If you have questions concerning access or wish to request accommodations for this event, please contact Allie Dusome (adusome@uwaterloo.ca)