Now Accepting Abstracts!
The Groundwater Resources Association (GRA) invites you to submit an abstract for the 2026 Western Groundwater Congress (WGC) —
the premier event for groundwater professionals across the Western United States.
Whether you're a scientist, engineer, policymaker, consultant, operator, advocate, or emerging professional,
WGC is the place to share your work, build connections, and help shape the future of groundwater management.
This year’s theme is all about STEWARDSHIP.
Inspired by the spirit of a desert music festival, Every Drop Deserves a Stage highlights the vital role groundwater plays in urban areas, agricultural regions, and in the most remote groundwater basins—calling on our community of groundwater professionals to come together as responsible stewards of this precious resource.
To improve the attendee experience and reduce overlap across sessions, this year’s WGC program features the following format:
Oral Presentations (Monday – Wednesday, September 28-30)
- Six (6) concurrent 90-minute sessions across 4 tracks
- Each session includes 4 speakers, 20 minutes per presentation
- Up to 96 total presentation slots (4 tracks × 6 sessions × 4 presentations)
Panels/Mini-Sessions (Monday – Wednesday, September 28-30)
- Three (3) concurrent 60-minute sessions across 4 tracks
- Each session includes 1 of the following presentation types that may have multiple participants/speakers:
- Panel Discussions – moderated expert dialogue
- Mini-Sessions – two longer technical talks per session, typically highlighting two sides to a story
- Up to 12 total 60-minute session slots (4 tracks × 3 sessions × 1 presentation)
Poster Presentation (Tuesday, September 29th)
- 3 feet X 4 feet poster board to acquaint conference participants with the fundamentals of your program, project or study quickly and easily
- GRA will supply easels to display posters
All presenters will be asked to provide:
- Presentation Title
- Presenter Name, Title, and Organization
- Contact Information
- Preferred Session Type & Track
- Choose one track and one session type that best fits your presentation
- Reviewers may adjust the track you have selected to best fit the topics covered in your presentation
- 250–300 Word Abstract - Pasted Text
- Short Presenter Bio (300 words or less)
What to Include in Your Abstract
Abstracts should clearly describe the purpose, scope, and relevance of your session. Help us understand:
- What your presentation is about
- Who it’s for
- What attendees will learn or take away
We welcome a wide range of presentation styles—from technical research to implementation case studies to community-led initiatives.
Abstract Submission Deadline:
April 15, 2026
Notification of Acceptance:
May 31, 2026
Track Overviews
Each track is organized around a distinct guiding question:
Track 1: How does the groundwater system work, and how confident are we in what we know?
Track 2: How do we design, build, operate, and maintain groundwater solutions?
Track 3: How do we protect and restore groundwater quality while managing quantity?
Track 4: How do we make decisions, allocate water, and implement groundwater sustainability together?
Track Selection Guidance
- Methods and analysis → Track 1 → analysts, modelers, data specialists, hydrogeologists, engineers
- Design, construction, and operations → Track 2 → engineers, operators, implementers, hydrogeologists
- Water quality, contamination, and remediation → Track 3 → water quality specialists, consultants, regulators, hydrogeologists, engineers
- Governance, policy, and community engagement → Track 4 → GSAs, agencies, NGOs, planners, funders, community partners, hydrogeologists, engineers
This track focuses on scientific methods, analytical tools, and data-driven approaches used to understand groundwater systems. Submissions should emphasize conceptual understanding, modeling, monitoring, and uncertainty analysis rather than project implementation.
If your presentation focuses on methods, analysis, or system understanding, this is the appropriate track.
Example Topics:
- Groundwater and basin-scale modeling approaches
- Forecasting and scenario analysis under climate stress
- Uncertainty analysis and model evaluation
- Monitoring networks, telemetry, and real-time data systems
- Remote sensing, evapotranspiration (ET), and consumptive use estimation methods
- Subsurface imaging and basin characterization
- Interconnected surface water–groundwater (ISW) modeling
- Groundwater Dependent Ecosystems (GDEs)
- Subsidence detection, measurement, and predictive modeling
- Data transparency, management, and integration tools
- AI applications in groundwater systems
This track highlights applied engineering and operational experiences that translate groundwater science into action. Submissions should emphasize design, construction, operations, and performance of groundwater projects.
If your presentation focuses on implementation, operations, or engineering lessons learned, submit with track 2.
Example Topics:
- Managed Aquifer Recharge (MAR) and Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR)
- Stormwater capture and recharge system design
- Well design, construction, rehabilitation, and optimization
- Conjunctive use and shared conveyance operations
- Water banking infrastructure and accounting systems
- Engineering decision-support tools
- Sediment, clogging, and maintenance challenges in recharge systems
- Irrigation efficiency technologies and field-based services
- Infrastructure upgrades to support groundwater sustainability
- Permitting, constructability, and adaptive management lessons
This track focuses on groundwater quality challenges, contaminant behavior, monitoring, treatment, and remediation, as well as integrating water quality protection and cleanup into sustainable groundwater management.
If your presentation centers on groundwater contamination, remediation strategies, or quality-related risks, this is the correct track.
Example Topics:
- Contaminant fate and transport, and related modeling in groundwater systems
- PFAS, nitrates, salinity, arsenic, chromium, and seawater intrusion
- Emerging contaminants and advanced monitoring strategies
- Groundwater quality impacts of MAR and ASR
- Site characterization and quality-focused monitoring tools
- Remediation technologies and case studies (in-situ, ex-situ, passive, and hybrid approaches)
- Linking remediation objectives with basin-scale management goals
- Produced water reuse and treatment considerations
- Integrating groundwater quality into basin sustainability planning
- Risk-based approaches to groundwater quality protection
This track addresses the institutional, legal, financial, and social dimensions of groundwater management. Submissions should emphasize governance structures, decision-making processes, and meaningful community engagement.
If your presentation focuses on policy, governance, funding, or collaborative and community-centered implementation, submit it under this track.
Example Topics:
- SGMA implementation strategies and lessons learned
- Groundwater allocations, caps, and demand management tools
- Land repurposing and transitions in water use
- Governance models for shared and adjudicated basins
- Groundwater rights and institutional frameworks
- Funding and financing groundwater programs and infrastructure
- Community engagement strategies and trust-building approaches
- Environmental justice, equity, and disadvantaged community engagement
- Stakeholder collaboration, facilitation, and conflict resolution
- Interagency and cross-jurisdiction coordination
- Workforce development and local capacity-building
- Community-led science and co-produced knowledge