AWRA-AK President's Message 01/2025
Felix Kristanovich

Thank you for visiting the Alaska Section, AWRA website, and Happy New Year! Since 1983, the Alaska Section of the American Water Resources Association has served as a forum where water resources professionals can meet and exchange information on water issues. The Alaska Section focuses on bringing together professionals to discuss multidisciplinary issues ranging from water policy and management to scientific studies, and findings such as the impact of climate change on hydrologic processes.

The Alaska Section is excited to host the National AWRA Spring Specialty Conference April 28-30 in Anchorage. This will be the first time since 2016 that National AWRA is returning to Alaska. Please use this momentous event to network with your colleagues from the lower forty-eight states, and with international partners. This conference will be in Marriott Anchorage Downtown hotel, the hub of all local Alaska activities. The conference theme is ''Development Risks and Challenges in Changing Climate Conditions''. Climate change is increasingly causing severe weather events, changes in weather patterns, ands altering hydrologic cycles, very visible in Alaska. Climate-driven uncertainties are posing significant risks to current and future development.

Two keynote speakers will anchor the conference, including an introductory keynote by Tony Williardson on Monday morning, and Rick Thoman presentation during the Wednesday lunch-event. Tony is an Executive Director of the Western States Water Council, and Rick is an Arctic climate specialist with the Alaska Center for Climate Assessment and Policy at the International Arctic Research Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Additionally, Tuesday social event will include film screening by Kelly Moneymaker, renown Alaskan Creative Media Producer.

The Conference will have over ninety presentations, including four technical workshops (AI-Powered Climate Analysis, Social Resilience for Climate Justice, Engaging with Uncertainty, and Climate Resilience for building communities). The Conference technical session highlights include sessions on Climate Adaptation and Resilience, Community Resilience to Climate Change impacts, three sessions on Climate Change Assessment Tools, Impacts on Water Infrastructure, and other sessions related to ecosystems, groundwater, surface water, management and tools, water quality, and Integrated Water Surface Management (IWRM). The Alaska Section will hold an annual lunch meeting during the first day of the conference.

The conference reception will be Monday evening together with the poster session. While submission of technical presentations has been completed, the AWRA still actively enlists submission of student posters through the end of March 2025. We encourage all students from Alaska to use the following link to submit your posters:

AWRA 2025 Spring Specialty Conference - Student Activities

Please consider sponsoring this historic conference. Various sponsorship options are available at the link below, including leasing a conference booth for exhibition and/or advertising.

AWRA 2025 Spring Specialty Conference - Sponsor and Exhibit


Alaska Section AWRA will continue to organize virtual monthly brown-bag lunch seminars (third week of every month through summer). We have already speakers scheduled for this January and February, but please let us know if you have engaging water resources topic of interest, and we will be happy to schedule your talk.

Best regards,

Felix Kristanovich
AWRA Alaska Section President