About the Connecticut Institute of Water Resources
Mission & Origin
While located at the University of Connecticut, the Connecticut Institute of Water Resources’s mission is to collaborate with and serve all colleges and universities in the state to resolve state and regional water related problems and provide a strong connection between water resource managers and the academic community, in addition to sharing the results of water resources research and other information with the general public.
The Connecticut Institute of Water Resources (CTIWR) mission is stipulated by the Federal Water Resources Research Act and involves two programmatic responsibilities.
The first is to plan, conduct and otherwise arrange for competent research that fosters:
(a) The entry of new research scientists into the water resources fields.
(b) The training and education of future water scientists, engineers and technicians.
(c) The preliminary exploration of new ideas that address water problems or expand understanding of water and water related phenomenon.
(d) The dissemination of research results to water managers and the public.
The second responsibility is to cooperate closely with other colleges and universities in Connecticut that have demonstrated capabilities for research information dissemination, and graduate training in order to develop a statewide program designed to resolve state and regional water and related land problems.
Administration
Core funding for the CTIWR program comes from the USGS 104b Base Grant Program. The bulk of these Base Grant funds are distributed to water resource researchers in Connecticut through a competitive grants process.The water resources institutes are required by law to be located at each state’s land grant university (or some other site designated by the governor). The Connecticut Institute of Water Resources is currently located within the Department of Natural Resource and the Environment (NRE), in the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources at the University of Connecticut. Both the Director, Dr. Michael Dietz, and the Associate Director, Mr. James Hurd, are NRE faculty members.
Research & Training
The CTIWR responds to topical environmental issues in Connecticut through a state-wide Advisory Board. The Institute facilitates applied and basic research in response to annual priorities established by these support bodies. The research program also supports the training of future water resource professionals by providing financial support to graduate students.
Information Transfer
Water related information is disseminated to the state of Connecticut through its web site, seminar series, reports and special workshops. The Institute’s web site contains abstracts of recent research projects, the current year’s seminar series, a publication database, special project information and links to other water related sites. The seminar series provides a forum for all water-related interests to present and discuss related environmental issues. IWR maintains a library of its research and special reports, as well as selected USGS publications for Connecticut. Through its Digital Archives Project the institute has been able to make many of these documents available over the web or in CD format.
Liaison Activities
By serving on selected state-wide committees and meeting with its Advisory Board, IWR maintains a close consultation and collaboration with various state and federal environmental agencies, leading water resources officials and interested members of the public. IWR also participates in the College of Agriculture’s Water Team.
CTIWR Advisory Board
| Peter Aarrestad Director, Inland Fisheries Division Bureau of Natural Resources Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection 79 Elm St. Hartford, CT 06106-1632 Phone: (860) 424-4171 Email: peter.aarrestad@ct.gov |
Timothy Vadas Director, Environmental Engineering Program Department of Civil and Environmental EngineeringUniversity of Connecticut 261 Glenbrook Rd, Unit 2037 Storrs, CT 06269 Phone: (860) 486-5552 Email: timothy.vadas@uconn.edu |
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| Diba Khan-Bureau Professor and the Program Coordinator Three Rivers Community College 574 New London Turnpike Norwich, CT 06360 Phone: (860) 885-2383 |
Erik Bedan Supervising Environmental Analyst Water Planning and Management Division Bureau of Water Management and Land Reuse Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection 79 Elm St. Hartford CT 06106 -5127 Phone: (860) 424-3386 Email: erik.bedan@ct.gov |
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| Gaboury Benoit Forestry and Environmental Studies Yale University New Haven, CT 06520 Phone:(203) 432-5139 Email: gaboury.benoit@yale.edu Web: http://environment.yale.edu/benoit-lab/#gsc.tab=0 |
Alicea Charamut Executive Director Rivers Alliance of Connecticut PO Box 1797 7 West Street 3rd Floor Litchfield, CT 06759-1797 Phone: 860-361-9349 Email: alicea@riversalliance.org Web: http://www.riversalliance.org |
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| Lori Mathieu (alt: Darrell Smith) Public Health Section Chief Department of Public Health – Drinking Water Section 410 Capitol Avenue, MS#51WAT Hartford, CT 06134 Phone:(860) 509-7333 Fax:(860) 509-7359 Email: lori.mathieu@ct.gov Web: https://portal.ct.gov/DPH |
Jon Morrison Supervisory Hydrologist US Geological Survey New England Water Science Center 101 Pitkin St. East Hartford, CT 06108 Phone: (860) 291-6761 Fax: (860) 291-6799 Email: jmorriso@usgs.gov |
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| Peter Siver Department of Botany Connecticut College Box 5605 270 Mohegan Ave. New London, CT 06320-4196 Phone: (860-439-2160 Email: pasiv@conncoll.edu |
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CTIWR Record of Directors
| Name | Years of Service | College |
|---|---|---|
| William Kennard | 1964 – 1976 | Agriculture and Natural Resources |
| Victor Scrottron | 1976 – 1983 | Engineering |
| Carol Burke | 1983 – 1986 | Agriculture and Natural Resources |
| Donald Squires | 1986 – 1988 | Liberal Arts & Sciences |
| David Miller | 1988 – 1993 | Agriculture and Natural Resources |
| Eileen Jokinen (Acting) | 1993 – 1994 | Agriculture and Natural Resources |
| Hugo Thomas | 1994 – 2000 | Agriculture and Natural Resources |
| Glenn Warner | 2000 – 2018 | Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources |
| Michael Dietz | 2018 – present | Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources |