Butte America, was host to this year's Montana AWRA conference. A record number of water professionals and students gathered in Butte for the 2003 annual meeting of the Montana section of AWRA. Thanks to all who contributed and made the meeting a huge success. A pre-meeting field trip to the Montana Resources Inc. mine and the new Horseshoe Bend water treatment plant started things off this year. Then our two-day format was stretched to the limit as a result of a record number of abstract submittals. A plenary session highlighting Superfund issues in the Butte area opened the conference followed by concurrent sessions dealing with ground water, surface water, watershed management, floodplain issues, and new session devoted to internet-based water information. Closing out the conference was a presentation by Phil Farnes on Climate Change in Montana, followed by the announcement of the student awards, and election of the 2003-2004 AWRA officer, David Salo. Click here for photos of the conference.

Session 3 Presentation: Evaluation of nutrient distribution and water quality in selected shallow aquifers in the Flathead Valley, northwestern Montana - Catherine McDonald and John LaFave, Montana Bureau of Mines and Geology, Butte.