Big Muddy Speaker Series

Presentation by Donald H. Wilkison, U.S. Geological Survey

Tuesday, March 31, 2015 (Note – this month’s presentation is the FIFTH Tuesday)

Where – Westport Coffeehouse Theater – 4010 Pennsylvania Ave. Kansas City, MO

6 p.m. – Social Hour
7 p.m. – Presentation. Presentation will be filmed – After 7 PM, Please enter through Green Room Burgers

PLUS – This presentation will be streaming live on KCDV.tv!
(See past videos here)

Presentation is FREE and open to the public!

Since 2010, the USGS, in cooperation with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, has been monitoring stream water quality in the Lower Grand River Basin.   Previous work demonstrated that substantial quantities of sediment and nutrients were exported from the basin each year and that these contaminants ultimately contributed to Gulf of Mexico hypoxia.  Simultaneous with the monitoring effort, and in attempt to reduce deleterious effects on stream water quality, farmers in the Lower Grand River Basin have been encouraged to implement integrated conservation practices. This talk will focus on approaches to understanding how such conservation programs may affect water-quality, illustrate approaches for determining long-term trends in water quality, and explore how the lingering effects of drought may challenge assumptions about conservation effectiveness.

Little East Locust Creek

About the speaker:

Donald H. Wilkison is a Scientist Emeritus with U.S. Geological Survey in the Kansas City office of the Missouri Water Science Center.  Mr. Wilkison, a registered geologist in the State of Missouri, earned his M.S. in Urban Environmental Geology from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and is a long-time resident of Kansas City’s urban core. Mr. Wilkison’s work with the USGS centered on the goal of providing a better understanding of the influence of human activities on water quality in both rural and urban settings.  He has been the principal investigator on studies on the occurrence and distribution of pesticides in ground water in Missouri,  the fate and transport of agricultural fertilizers through the hydrologic cycle,  and the occurrence, transport, fate and effects of nutrients, organic wastewater contaminants, pharmaceutical compounds, and bacteria in surface waters of the Kansas City metropolitan area.

Directions

Westport CoffeeHouse – 4010 Pennsylvania Kansas City, Mo – www.westportcoffeehouse.com

The Westport CoffeeHouse is in the Westport entertainment area, midtown KC, south of downtown and north of the Plaza.  The main intersection is Westport Rd and Broadway.  From this intersection, go west on Westport Rd one block to Pennsylvania. Turn north (right).

OR you can get there from the intersection of Southwest Trafficway and Westport Rd.  Go east on Westport Rd to Pennsylvania. Turn north (left).

Westport Coffee House is approximately one block down on the west side of Pennsylvania.  Parking can be had either south of the coffee house in the large parking lot or just north of the coffee house alongside the building.  Enter through Green Room Burgers or Westport CoffeeHouse.