Regional Water Quality Meeting September 8 and 9, 2005
University Place Conference Center at IUPUI
Indianapolis, Indiana.

As watersheds continue to undergo transformation to mixed agricultural and urban land use, new challenges face water resource managers working to improve water quality.  Improving water resources in the Great Lakes region hinges on integrated approaches addressing not only water quality, but water use, wastewater treatment, and the physical environment. Historically, research and extension activities have worked independently to address water quality issues. In remaining independent, both the effectiveness and impact of this important work is limited. The goal of this meeting was to launch a unique regional effort to facilitate the process of establishing and then empowering a Midwest consortium of research sites that can be used for the development of comprehensive regional data sets with the outcome of improving the region's water quality. The meeting explored approaches currently used at existing sites as well as provided a forum for discussion of novel technologies for both the capture and display of water quality data.  Meeting participants explored approaches to translating data-to-information that can aid in the decision making process.  Participants also had opportunities for hands-on experiences at field sites and in a data visualization laboratory.  A White Paper is currently in progress that will address a set of unique approaches to assessing the impacts of all types of activities associated with watershed functions and provide a framework and timeline to achieve a regional consortium.