DATE: October 14, 2008

CONTACT: Gene Eidson, 864-710-0882
geidson@clemson.edu

WRITER: Peter Hull, 843-554-7226, ext 118
phull@clemson.edu

S.C. Water Resources Conference Day 1: Technology and opportunity

NORTH CHARLESTON — Water and electricity usually don’t mix. But the future of managing water resources likely lies in electronics.

This was one of 30 discussion topics at the two-day South Carolina Water Resources Conference, organized by the Clemson University Restoration Institute and planned by a group of 19 universities, government agencies and industries.

Using an array of field sensors and measurements, cyber-infrastructure and data management scientists will have a never-before seen look into water quality and quantity, how water moves across the landscape and where it ultimately travels.

But one of the biggest obstacles of this “information age” is sharing environmental data that’s collected from multiple sources, said Madilyn Fletcher, director of the School of the Environment at the University of South Carolina.

This can be achieved if these groups adopt certain principals: a common language for the data; documentation tools; and data-sharing methods, such as mapping and other visuals.

“Think of the possibilities if we can bring together these multiple information systems and databases,” Fletcher said.

In fact, information management is so important it should be recognized as a core function at the beginning of a research project, she said.

“It should not be an afterthought,” Fletcher said. “If you are going to manage data affectively, it should be a consideration from the start.”

Jill Gemmill, cyberinfrasture director at Clemson University, is part of an interdisciplinary team formed to overcome some of these challenges — literally.

Through the combined efforts of Clemson environmental and computer scientists, researchers are developing ways to effectively transmit data to a central hub from deep in the forest or from offshore sea buoys.

“The Internet is not always available out in the woods,” Gemmill said. “There are lots of trees and hills in the way.”

The technological advances come at a time when water use and availability are coming under the microscope.

During the luncheon keynote address Tuesday, Attorney General Henry McMaster told the 350 attendees that water has become a sought-after commodity.

So much so that the Palmetto State is locked in a legal dispute with North Carolina over the diversion of 34 million gallons a day from the Catawba River for drinking water and other uses in the fast-growing Charlotte area.

“They are taking too much of our water,” McMaster said.

As the population and developments increase, so will the demands on the region’s water supply, he said.

“Everybody is going after the water,” McMaster said. “It won’t be long, I think, before Atlanta runs a pipe to the Savannah River.”

But the ongoing development of cyber infrastructure can help keep close tabs on the state’s supply.

Robert Hirsch, associate director for water at U.S. Geological Survey, said he was a skeptic of groundwater data 10 years ago. But “when the big rains come through,” knowing the public’s water needs provides valuable insight.

“We can learn what they’re using it for, where they’re getting it from and where it goes after it’s used,” Hirsch said.

The two-day S.C. Water Resources Conference at the Charleston Area Convention Center concludes Wednesday.

For more details visit: www.scwaterconference.org.

END

Conference planning committee: Beaufort-Jasper Water Authority, BP Barber Engineers, Clemson University Center for Watershed Excellence, Coastal Carolina University, College of Charleston, Corps of Engineers-SAC, Medical University of South Carolina-Biomedicine & Environmental Sciences Center, NOAA-Hollings Marine Laboratory, Santee Cooper, S.C. Sea Grant Consortium, S.C. Department of Health & Environmental Control-Water Bureau and Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, S.C. Department of Natural Resources-Hydrology and Marine Research, University of South Carolina-School of the Environment, USDA Forest Service, USGS-South Carolina.

Financial sponsors: BP Barber Engineers; Charleston Water System; Clemson University Center for Computing and Information Technology, Center for Watershed Excellence, Restoration Institute and Thurmond Institute-SC Water Resources Center; College of Charleston; Duke Energy; McAngus, Goudelock and Courie; PBS&J; Santee Cooper; S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control; S.C. Sea Grant Consortium; University of South Carolina-School of the Environment; USGS-South Carolina.