ROANOKE, LEWIS COUNTY, WV – The Water Resources Conference of the Virginias began on Monday, Oct. 5 at Stonewall Resort. The annual meeting brought together the West Virginia Water Research Institute at WVU and the Virginia Water Resources Research Center at Virginia Tech. The two organizations meet each year to share research with people in academics, industry and politics in an effort to keep water resources safe and usable.
“There needs to be some type of dialogue to translate the research to something that policymakers and industry can understand, and I think that’s one part of it,” said WVWRI’s Andrew Stacy.
The two organizations are funded by the U.S. Geological Survey, and the conference is one of their major requirements each year, spreading the research to those interested. Organizers in both states said the joint conference makes it much easier to pass information along to those interested.
“We also share a lot of similar water challenges, with regard to energy extraction, coal mining, natural gas drilling, and so many of the issues in both Virginia and West Virginia are identical,” said VWRRC Director Stephen Schoenholtz
