Bucknell University in Lewisburg will host the 7th Annual Susquehanna River Symposium, "Wasn't That A Mighty Storm! Flooding in the Susquehanna watershed," October 12 and 13 in the Terrace Room (Room 256) of the Elaine Langone Center.

All events in this symposium are free and open to the public without registration.

The symposium is sponsored by the Susquehanna River Initiative of the Bucknell University Environmental Center and the Susquehanna River Heartland Coalition for Environmental Studies, a group of faculty and students from local universities whose research focuses on the Susquehanna River.

Because of its geographic location with respect to sources of hurricanes and tropical storms, the enormous size of the watershed, and hydrology and morphology of channel, the Susquehanna River is one of the most flood-prone rivers in the United States, according to Benjamin Hayes, director of Bucknell's Susquehanna River Initiative and chair of this year's symposium.

"Many of us remember clearly the devastation and deaths related to Hurricane Agnes in 1972 and other floods including the ice floods of 1972 and January 1996 and Hurricane Ivan in 2004. In early September of last year, Tropical Storm Lee dumped more than 18 inches of rain in the watershed, which was already water-logged from Hurricane Irene which swept through the basin several weeks earlier.

"Lee was the flood of record in our region. The flooding closed Bucknell's campus, displaced more than 100,000 people, caused massive amounts of erosion and sedimentation, and destroyed more than 100 miles of roads and bridges, farm fields and communities. Understanding the causes of flooding and their impact on streams, aquatic ecosystems, and human life is of great interest to people in our region," he said.

The goal of this symposium is to bring together students, faculty, scientists, engineers, planners, and community leaders to explore flooding in the Susquehanna watershed and its impacts on human and aquatic life, infrastructure, tributary stream channels, and areas downstream, including the Chesapeake Bay. Various speakers also will address the latest technologies and approaches to flood forecasting, floodplain management, and risk reduction.

Among the featured speakers are--

-- H.W. "Skip" Wieder, director of the Susquehanna River Heartland Coalition for Environmental Studies, will speak on the importance of university research and collaborative partnerships in the watershed;

-- Paul Swartz, executive director of the Susquehanna River Basin Commission, will give the keynote address, "Floods, droughts and everything in between;" and

-- Matthew J. Ehrhart, Pennsylvania executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, will give the talk, "The Connection to the Chesapeake Bay."

For more information on the agenda and to register, visit the Susquehanna River Symposium webpage.

10/8/2012