2021 California Water Boards Water Data Science Symposium

Date and Time:
Tue, Jun 29, 2021 - Wed, Jun 30, 2021
Times TBD

Location:
Virtual – more details to be provided closer to the event

The Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program (SWAMP), the California Water Quality Monitoring Council, and the San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) are hosting the Sixth Annual California Water Boards Water Data Science Symposium on June 29-30, 2021. This free annual event aims to enhance how water quality monitoring generates and uses meaningful data to inform water quality management decisions.

It is vitally important to the California Water Data Science Symposium Planning Committee to ensure the safety and health of our event, program participants, and guests. Due to evolving concerns around novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and following the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) guidance on gatherings to protect public health and slow the spread of COVID-19, we are currently planning for this year’s Symposium to be a remote event. Additional details on how to attend remotely will be sent to registered attendees once we are closer to the Symposium date.

Presentations and/or posters should inform water resource issues for the following subject areas:

  • Accessibility: What can we do to improve access to and use of water data?
  • Adaptation: What can we do to minimize and mitigate changes impacting water in California?
  • Agency: How do we engage better with communities - who have everything at stake at water and data decision making - focusing on collection and use of meaningful water data and information?
  • Change: How are water related resources and systems changing?
  • Communication: How can we do better at communicating what we know (and don't know!) to all audiences?

In addition to these broad themes, presentations and posters addressing the following specific topics were prioritized for inclusion in the Symposium program:

  • Data visualization and communication
  • Innovative monitoring tools
  • Open data
  • Statewide monitoring programs

If you are interested in giving a presentation, lightning talk, or poster on a subject area or topic described above, please complete the 2021 California Water Data Science Symposium Presenter Interest Form by March 15, 2021

Who should attend?

  • Managers faced with policy decisions
  • Staff and volunteers at community science organizations
  • Scientists and community members working on water related questions or issues
  • Aspiring academics and budding subject matter experts
  • Water and data enthusiasts!

Register TODAY!

For Water Board Staff: This is a Water Board sponsored event. Training Office approval is not required to attend sponsored events. Optional: submit a TRF to add the event to your training history. Please ensure you have supervisor approval to attend prior to registering.

For more information, please email: mywaterquality@waterboards.ca.gov

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Past Symposiums

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June 29-30, 2020

The Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program (SWAMP), the California Water Quality Monitoring Council, the California Water Boards Data Center, and the San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) hosted the Fifth Annual California Water Boards Water Data Science Symposium on June 29-30, 2020. This annual event aims to enhance how water quality monitoring generates meaningful data to inform water quality management decisions.

The 2020 California Water Data Science Symposium Agenda and Program is available for review. Follow this link for an accessible version of the Agenda and Program.

Presentations and/or posters should inform water resource issues for the following subject areas:

  • Accessibility: What can we do to improve access to and use of water data?
  • Adaptation: What can we do to minimize and mitigate changes impacting water in California?
  • Agency: How do we engage better with communities - who have everything at stake at water and data decision making - focusing on collection and use of meaningful water data and information?
  • Change: How are water related resources and systems changing?
  • Communication: How can we do better at communicating what we know (and don't know!) to all audiences?

In addition to these broad themes, presentations and posters addressing the following specific topics were prioritized for inclusion in the Symposium program:

  • Data visualization and communication
  • Innovative monitoring tools
  • Open data
  • Statewide monitoring programs

Who attended?

  • Managers faced with policy decisions
  • Staff and volunteers at community science organizations
  • Scientists and community members working on water related questions or issues
  • Aspiring academics and budding subject matter experts
  • Water nerds

The California Water Quality Monitoring Council and its Workgroups co-sponsor the Annual California Water Boards Water Data Science Symposium and would like to invite attendees to attend a meeting of the Monitoring Council to engage with the Council Members, discuss their new strategic plan, and interact with the various theme-specific Workgroups.

For more information, please mywaterquality@waterboards.ca.gov


Open Water California: Innovating through Integrating and Expanding the Water Data Community

The Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program (SWAMP), the California Water Quality Monitoring Council, the California Water Boards Data Center, and the San Francisco Estuary Institute (SFEI) hosted the Fourth Annual California Water Boards Water Data Science Symposium on July 1-2, 2019 in Sacramento, CA. This annual event aims to enhance how water quality monitoring generates meaningful data that informs water quality management decisions. This year’s Symposium focused on the theme of Open Water California- Innovating Through Integrating and Expanding the Water Data Community.

The 2019 Symposium's Agenda Package is available for review. Follow this link for an accessible version of the Agenda Package.

Please go to YouTube to view recordings of the Symposium:

In addition to the presentations and expert panel discussions, there were two concurrent events at this year's Symposium:

  • California Water Datathon - Focused on engaging emerging data scientists to help address water management issues including Trash Data, Consumer Confidence Reports, and Drinking Water Sources.
  • Community Water Science Workshop - Provided training and information on a variety of topics that are important to community water science organizations, such as developing a monitoring and quality assurance plan, working with laboratories, and multiple sessions on working with data.

Who attended?

  • Managers faced with policy decisions
  • Staff and volunteers at community science organizations
  • Professional and community scientists working on water quality or resource management questions
  • Aspiring academics and data scientists exploring careers in water quality and resources areas

Contact

Staff is working on providing ADA accessible versions of the presentations given at this year’s Symposium. In the meantime for copies of specific presentations please contact Nick Martorano at SB1070Coordinator@waterboards.ca.gov


June 20 - 21, 2018

The Water Board's Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program (SWAMP) hosted the 3rd Annual California Water Board’s Water Data Science Symposium. This 2018 Symposium addressed the theme of Adapting in the Face of Disruptive Landscape Change. Presentations and posters describe how to collect, manage, and communicate monitoring information in anticipation of landscape change in response to long-term drivers such as climate change, population growth, and land use change, as well as rapid drivers such as fires, droughts, and floods.

The following subject areas were a focus of the 2018 symposium:

  • Historical Ecology - What can history tell us about relationships between land use and water resources as urban, suburban, peri-urban and rural landscapes have changed over time in CA?
  • Climate Change as a driver in water resource management.
  • Fire as a driver in water resource management.
  • Cannabis as a new driver in water resource management.
  • Contaminants - The impacts on water resources of emerging contaminants, legacy contaminants, contaminants from fires, and contaminants from other sources; new methods for monitoring.
  • Proactive Water Resource Monitoring - Are we collecting the right data and generating the right information to manage water resources in changing landscapes?

Beyond these broad themes, the following specific topics were prioritized for inclusion in the Symposium program:

  • Landscape change
  • Statewide monitoring programs
  • Remote sensing
  • Innovative monitoring tools
  • eDNA
  • Open data
  • Data visualization
  • Communication of findings to managers
  • Civic engagement


Agenda and Presentation Documents

Presenters, PowerPoints, & Abstracts & Bios: Day 1

Agenda with Presenters, Videos, PowerPoints, & Abstracts & Bios: Day 2

This full Science Symposium program contains the agenda with active hyperlinks to the PowerPoint presentations.

2018 Data Science Symposium Program & Agenda with Presentations

Video Recordings
  • Day 1 - Unfortunately the Skype recording of Day 1 is missing audio. If you attended Day 1 of the Symposium and recorded the presentations please contact us.
  • Day 2

Contacts
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June 29 - 30, 2017

The Water Board's Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program (SWAMP) hosted the 2nd Annual California Water Boards Water Data Science Symposium, with the focus being on the use of data by other programs and Departments.

This is an annual event that aims to:

  • daylight new watershed and data science topics, tool, and insights, insights;
  • better connect data, information and knowledge to water quality stakeholders and decision makers; and
  • create a networking community to enhance better communication throughout the year.

2017 Symposium

Links to Powerpoint Presentations and videos can be found on the main Agenda and Special Session Agenda below

Contacts

June 29, 2016

The Water Board's Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program (SWAMP) hosted the 1st Annual California Water Boards Water Data Science Symposium this summer. This symposium followed the Water Board's Data Fair in March and Data Innovation Challenge in April, with the focus being on the use of data by other programs and Departments.

This is an annual event that aims to

  • daylight surface water quality data, insights, and interests on California surface water quality topics
  • better connect data, information and knowledge to water quality stakeholders and decision makers; and
  • create a networking community to enhance better communication throughout the year.
2016 Symposium

View the 1st Annual California Water Boards Water Data Science Symposium

Presentations

We have limited space for some excellent posters or other visual displays this year. If you would like to submit a poster or display, please register as an Attendee and as a Poster in Eventbrite. There will be a 90 minute lunch break to allow for visiting posters and displays

Who should attend?

People who are interested in helping to:

  • facilitate the application of Water Quality data to California water policy and permit writing
  • provide a forum for sharing recent science and practical applications relevant to watershed health
  • foster the translation of water quality data and research into policy solutions
  • expand support for water quality data with applications to California's environment, public health and economy
  • facilitate collaboration across scientific research fields and public policy
Contacts