It has been another whirlwind for me these past few months. No one can say that serving as the EWRI President is boring.

I attended the Climate Risk Reduction ASCE-NOAA Workshop: Hazards and Process at ASCE Headquarters on June 25-26, 2024. This was an invitation-only workshop and a continuation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between ASCE and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This was a hybrid meeting and allowed for attendees all over the world; we had equal participation online and in-person. We heard from ASCE President Marsia Geldert-Murphey & Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Deputy NOAA Administrator, Jainey Bavishi. This event also collaborated across ASCE institutes, and included EWRI, COPRI, SEI, and GEO). There were three breakout sessions for focused discussion - two centered on hazards, and one procedural breakout on identifying major goals through 2027. Our hope is that this becomes an annual event and will continue to grow. The report-outs from this workshop are still being developed, but it is our intention to share with the membership once they are formulated. Thank you to all who were involved! 

The EWRI Governing Board Vice Presidential election ran from Monday, June 10 - Friday, July 12, and the membership elected a new representative - Heather Gacek, P.E., M.ASCE. On October 1, 2024, Heather Gacek becomes Vice President, Lily Baldwin, P.E., M.ASCE becomes President-Elect, Jennifer Sloan Ziegler, Ph.D., P.E., ENV SP, M.ASCE becomes President, and I, Shirley Clark, Ph.D., P.E., BC.WRE, F.EWRI, M.ASCE become Past President. I know the membership will be in good hands with the rest of these ladies, and I'm proud to have served three of our four year cycle. 

The ASCE Board of Directors met on July 18-19, 2024, and voted to approve two policy statements that originated within ASCE-EWRI committees. To promote the goals of the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Board of Direction has adopted official policy statements on major technical, professional, and education issues of interest to the civil engineering community and the nation. While many of these policy statements were created to address issues of particular interest in the United States, other policy statements are pertinent throughout the world.

The following are now Board Approved Policy Statements:
6.5.3 New Policy Statements

  • Civil Infrastructure Systems and Water Energy-Food Nexus
  • Nature Based Solutions

Thank you to Meghna Babbar-Sebens, Ph.D., A.M.ASCE with Oregon State University for the Civil Infrastructure Systems and Water-Energy-Food Nexus statement which is now Policy Statement 576. 

Thank you to Brian Bledsoe, Ph.D., P.E., F.ASCE with University of Georgia for the Nature Based Solutions statement which is now Policy Statement 575. We appreciate both of their efforts, going above and beyond to make this happen!

Following the ASCE Board of Directors meeting, EWRI Director, Brian Parsons; Jennifer Sloan Ziegler, incoming EWRI President, and myself presented a Peer Review to the Technical Region Board of Governors (TRGB). This presentation is a required process at ASCE and encourages sharing between institutes. We focused on presenting our work on EWRI's 5th Strategic Plan (set to be implemented this October); EWRI's multiple cross-disciplinary projects related to climate change, nature based solutions, civil infrastructure, and the international BMP Database.

As we move closer to ASCE 2027, we are working to make sure that EWRI conference content is represented. We passed the review with flying colors and are excited to continue showing the broader ASCE community what EWRI members are capable of achieving!