Deadline for presentation submissions is April 30, 2025.

The 19th annual Iowa Water Conference will be held on September 9-10, 2025, at FFA Enrichment Center in Ankeny, Iowa.

Our overarching conference theme is “Life Depends on Water. Water Depends on You.” As the Iowa Water Center celebrates its 60-year anniversary, we contemplate the progress made, as well as the goals that have been so far, out of reach. As water professionals and community members, we all play a part in protecting our waters. Creating a resilient water cycle is critical and relies on a systems approach, recognizing the connection between water, soil, and all living things.

The Iowa Water Conference and our conference planning partners invite individuals and groups to submit conference abstracts addressing how individuals and communities evaluate and protect Iowa’s precious natural water sources.

Focus areas for the 2025 conference:

• Water and Agriculture
• Water and Health
• Stormwater/Urban Water
• Water Quantity
• Water Science Communication
• Water and Recreation

The Iowa Water Conference is a unique opportunity for water, climate, urban, agriculture, and natural resource professionals to collaborate and exchange ideas. We welcome submissions from researchers, practitioners, and advocates who actively contribute to advancing water solutions in Iowa and around the Midwest.

Join us in Ankeny in September 2025 as we explore one of Iowa’s most valuable natural resources.

Proposal Information

The Iowa Water Conference Planning Committee is interested in proposals that address the theme of this year’s conference. The committee will consider proposals that do not relate directly *if* they present new advances on the topic or emphasize interdisciplinary teams at work.

Accepted proposals should include at least one of the following:

• Timely water topics that address the real-time needs of Iowans
• Exemplify success stories, ground-breaking data, or innovative research approaches
• Address policy discussions on water resources that are data-driven and informed by scientific discovery.

Presentation Options

• Keynote presentation (45-minute, entire conference audience)
• Breakout presentation (30-minute, small classroom session in a themed track)
• Panel presentation (60-minute, brief introduction with discussion among presenters and session attendees)

Primary Subject areas for the 2025 conference (Identify one)

• Water and Agriculture
• Water and Health
• Stormwater/Urban Water
• Water Quantity
• Water Science Communication
• Water and Recreation

Secondary Subject Area (Identify all that apply)

• Community engagement and education
• Rural Water
• Sociological/behavioral
• Urban Stormwater
• Water and Agriculture
• Water and Ecosystem Health (soil, streams/rivers, wildlife, etc.)
• Water and Human Health (drinking water, recreation, food toxicity, etc.)
• Water Insecurity in Iowa (rural, underserved communities, agriculture, etc.)
• Watershed Management
• Water Policy
• Water Professional Training
• Water Research and Innovation
• Water Toxins (PFAS, HABs, etc.)

Information Regarding Co-Presenters

For the abstract submission, please register individuals co-presenting for any of the above presentation options. Co-authors (i.e., participants in the project/research but not presenting) should *not* be listed in the submission.

Presenters are welcome to acknowledge co-authors or participants in the project/research at the conference.

Session Set Up

Each room will be equipped with:

• A laptop
• Projector and screen
• One podium
• One microphone
• Classroom-style seating
• Additional materials/equipment will be the responsibility of the presenter to bring.

Communication
To receive notifications and updates, please ensure emails from frescoln@iastate.edu and messages from Microsoft Conference Management Toolkit (CMT) are not blocked or routed to the Spam Folder.

Please spell out all acronyms and abbreviations at least once in the submitted text.

Proposal Submission
Proposals will be submitted through the Microsoft Conference Management Toolkit. No submissions will be accepted via email to conference organizers. Please read the instructions below to submit. Incomplete submissions or submissions sent to Iowa Water Conference staff or planning committee members will be eliminated from consideration.

• Go to https://cmt3.research.microsoft.com/IWC2025/Submission/Index
• Select “Create Account” and fill out the requested information to register
• Once you are logged in, follow the prompts to create your submission
• Select “Create New Submission”
• Select “Presentations 2025” for presentation submission
• Enter the title and abstract
• Select “Add” under the Authors section to add additional co-presenters, if any***
• Select applicable Subject Areas
• Answer additional questions, if any
• Select “Submit.”

*** For the abstract submission, please register individuals co-presenting at the conference for any of the above presentation options. Those not presenting should not be listed in the submission, even if they are co-authors of the project or paper.

The Microsoft CMT service was used for managing the peer-reviewing process for this conference. This service was provided for free by Microsoft and they bore all expenses, including costs for Azure cloud services as well as software development and support.