March 31 - April 1, 2026

ASCE Environmental Design & Water Resources Conference

Gateway Hotel and Conference Center, Ames, Iowa

Agenda

8:00 AM – 10:00 AM

Registration

Morning General Session

Presiding: Mark Land, PE, Chairman, Environmental and Water Resources Conference Committee

8:25 AM – 8:30 AM

Welcome and Introductory Remarks

Interactive Trivia Introduction

Speaker(s): Mark Land, Committee Chair
8:30 AM – 9:15 AM

Iowa DOT Flood Forecasting and Response System

Speaker(s): Dave Claman, Hydraulic Engineer, Iowa Department of Transportation
9:15 AM – 10:00 AM

New Water Supply Reservoir for Osceola: A Marathon with a Sprinter’s Urgency

Speaker(s): Michael Butterfield, PE, Project Manager, HDR
10:00 AM – 10:15 AM

Break - Interactive Trivia Part I

10:15 AM – 10:45 AM

The CISWRA Project: A Water Quality Report and Call to Action in the Des Moines and Raccoon River Watersheds

Speaker(s): Elliot Anderson, Ph. D., PE, Assistant Research Scientist, University of Iowa
10:45 AM – 11:15 AM

Central Iowa Water Works Regional Water Treatment Facility Study

Speaker(s): Ashley Geesman, PE, Area Drinking Water Market Sector Lead, HDR Engineering, Inc.
11:15 AM – 11:45 AM

Update regarding the Iowa Nutrient Reduction Strategy

Speaker(s): Susan Kozak, Division Director, Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship
11:45 AM – 12:45 PM

Luncheon Presentation - What's in Your Water? - Using Genetic Testing to Better Understand Our Aquatic Systems

Speaker(s): Claire Hruby, Ph. D., Assistant Professor, Drake University

Afternoon General Session

Speaker(s): Jonathan Garton, Environmental and Water Resources Conference Committee Member
12:45 PM – 1:30 PM

ICON Water Trails - Construction of Whitewater Projects in Downtown Des Moines

Speaker(s): Monica Converse, Project Manager, ICON Water Trails, Mark Land, PE, CFM, Vice President, Snyder & Associates, Inc.
1:30 PM – 2:15 PM

Lessons Learned from Pipestem Spillway Modification

Speaker(s): Sam Sobczyk, Civil Engineer, USACE
2:15 PM – 3:00 PM

Advancing Flash Flood Forecasting Tools for Early Warning Systems

Speaker(s): Humberto Vergara, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, University of Iowa
3:00 PM – 3:15 PM

Break - Interactive Trivia Part II

3:15 PM – 4:00 PM

Lower Missouri River Flood Risk and Resiliency Study and Stage Frequency Analysis

Speaker(s): Paul Boyd, Ph.D. PE, Hydraulic Engineer, US Army Corps of Engineers
4:00 PM – 5:00 PM

Engineering Ethics and Public Bidding "We are held to a higher standard"

Speaker(s): Larry Sandhaas, PE, SE, Senior Structural Engineer, Shive-Hattery
5:00 PM

Adjourn