The 2nd annual Potomac River Conference was hosted by ICPRB and held at Fairfax Water in Lorton, Virginia, on Thursday, September 21, 2023. The event highlighted trends in the Potomac basin, regional resilience, government innovations, on-the-ground implementation, as well as equity and environmental justice considerations for climate change in the Potomac River basin.
Conference Documents
- Agenda
- Conference Booklet (Speaker bios, abstracts, and more)
Dedication
The 2023 Potomac River Conference was dedicated to Curtis Dalpra, who passed away in March of 2023. During his long tenure in the Communications Department at ICPRB, Curtis was always willing to share his knowledge of the basin and its storied past. During his 41 years at ICPRB, he championed good stewardship of the Potomac River. Let us all continue that legacy.
Videos and Presentations
A video of the conference and links to the presentations can be found below.
Video: Sessions 1-3
Session 1: Opening
Moderator – Michael Nardolilli, ICPRB
- In Memoriam Curtis Dalpra – Michael Nardolilli, ICPRB
- Welcome to Fairfax Water – Jamie Hedges, Fairfax Water
- Welcome to the 2023 Potomac River Conference – Robert Sussman, ICPRB Chair
- Keynote Speaker: The Climate Crisis and Potomac River Communities – Katie Blackman, Potomac Conservancy
Session 2: Trends in the Potomac Basin
Moderator – Chris Jones, GMU
- Climate Change: Trends & Projections for the Potomac River Basin – Cherie Schultz, ICPRB
- Temporal trends in Potomac River fish abundance indicate a changing flow regime – Nathaniel Hitt, USGS
- Using Cluster Analysis to Detect Changes in Seasonality of Estuarine Water Quality Over Time – Elgin Perry, Consultant to EPA CBP
- Oligotrophication of the Tidal Freshwater Potomac River in a Changing Climate – Dann Sklarew and Chris Jones, GMU
- CBP Tributary Summaries: Communication tool on water quality changes to inform management decisions – Alex Gunnerson, CRC CBP
Session 3: Regional Resilience
Moderator – Pam Kenel, Loudoun Water
- Climate Change Considerations for MS4 utilities: a District of Columbia case study – Anouk Savineau, LimnoTech and Matt Gallagher, DOEE
- MD’s Forests and New Forest Conservation Legislation – Susan Minnemeyer, Nature Plus
At the end of Session 3, we took a moment to share reflections on Curtis Dalpra while a slideshow of photos were played on the screen.
Video: Sessions 4-6
Session 4: Government Innovation
Moderator – Jeffery Seltzer, DOEE
Christopher Beck (MDE); Erin Garnaas-Holmes (DOEE); Katherine Rainone (MWCOG); Megan Porta (PA DEP)
Session 5: Implementation
Moderator – Steve DeRidder, Berkeley County PSWD
- Watershed Forest Management Challenges for Water Supply – Jenny Willoughby, Frederick, MD
- Water Quality Modeling and Monitoring in Vulnerable Communities within the Chesapeake Bay Watershed – Leah Staub, Andrew Sekellick, and Tristan Mohs, USGS
Session 6: Closing
Michael Nardolilli, ICPRB Executive Director
Poster Session
- A New Primary Producer Enters the Tidal Freshwater Potomac: Seasonal Dynamics of the Benthic Cyanobacterium Microseira (Lyngbya) wollei – Chris Jones, GMU, and Sam Mohney, GMU
- Assessing the sources of pesticides in the Potomac River Watershed through wastewater reuse modeling – Samuel Miller, Daniel Burns, and Kaycee Faunce, USGS
- A Tale of Two Embayments: Interaction of Nutrients, Water Clarity, Phytoplankton, and Submersed Aquatic Vegetation Drives Ecosystem Structure – Chris Jones, GMU
- Chemical prioritization of contaminants in the Potomac River – Scott Glaberman, GMU
- Field surveys and comparative parasitology of freshwater native and invasive snails in the Potomac River and its watershed – Amy Fowler, GMU
- Phenology of Two-horned Water Chestnut (Trapa bispinosa Roxb. var iinumai Nakano) in Northern Va. Ponds – Sujata Poudel, GMU, Chris Jones, GMU, and Nancy Rybicki, USGS/GMU
- Potomac Riverkeeper Network’s Community Science Water Quality Monitoring Program and Public Health – Morgan Bench and Lisa Wu, Potomac Riverkeeper Network
- Shifts in the community structure of tidal freshwater fishes associated with alternate stable states – T. Reid Nelson, GMU
- Short-term risk assessment for a newly introduced water chestnut, Trapa bispinosa Roxb., entering the Potomac River, U.S. – Nancy Rybicki, USGS/GMU
- Why Viewsheds matter to planning for land use change – Lynn Crump and Jennifer Wampler, Scenic Virginia