(Photo by Bhanu Prakash Reddy Badhireddy)
April 07, 2026
SIU Carbondale workshops will help students learn about water resources management
CARBONDALE, Ill. — Students from six area high schools will learn about water resources management during Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s eighth annual University Council on Water Resources (UCOWR) workshop on April 15.
Nearly 125 students are expected to attend four, 50-minute workshops throughout the day and interact with SIU Carbondale water resources faculty and graduate students in a variety of hands-on activities.
“Our goal is to first introduce students to the various fields involved in water resources research, hopefully giving them ideas about possible careers in this very important resource area,” Elaine Groninger, a researcher with UCOWR in the School of Forestry and Horticulture. “We also want them to see what SIU has to offer students considering entering water resources research and management fields.”
Media availability
Reporters, photographers and camera crews are welcome to cover the University Council on Water Resources workshops. For more information or assistance in arranging interviews, contact Elaine Groninger at 618-536-7571 or egroninger@siu.edu.
Students attending the workshop are from:
- Brehm Preparatory School.
- Carbondale Community High School.
- Carterville High School.
- Cobden High School.
- Herrin High School.
- Murphysboro High School.
Array of workshops planned
The activities will have faculty and graduate students from geology, civil and environmental engineering, fisheries, and forestry. The morning workshops start at 9 a.m. with lunch at 11 a.m. in the Student Center Renaissance Room. The afternoon workshops are from 12:20 to 2:10 p.m.
The students will be divided into four groups — two groups will begin with workshops in the College of Engineering, Computing, Technology, and Mathematics on campus, while the other two groups attending workshops in the Gower Translational Research Center,1785 University Press Dr. After lunch, the groups will switch locations and workshops.
Some of the activities will include:
Fisheries: Students will experience a variety of techniques biologists in Southern Illinois use to understand aquatic species. Topics and hands-on activities include rearing fish in aquaculture, finding and identifying aquatic invertebrates, and capturing and identifying fish.
Geology: Students will be introduced to geologic field expeditions and participate in demonstrations of tools used to collect and analyze sediment cores and water chemistry. They will also learn how sediments beneath their feet record and preserve environmental and climatic signals from the landscape and atmosphere.
Civil and environmental engineering Students will learn the concept of the urban water cycle — where drinking water comes from, how it is supplied, and where the wastewater is discharged. They’ll design a water distribution network and learn about how the community and environmental engineers contribute to making the cycle healthier and more sustainable, especially considering climate and socioeconomic challenges.
Forestry: Students will make their own water filters to test soils and other substrates for their ability to filter and hold water to highlight the importance of natural landscapes such as wetlands and vegetated buffers, between agricultural or urban land and adjacent waterways.