On Saturday, April 30, the Institute of Water and Environmental Resilience at Stetson University will host a Volusia County Water Summit at the university’s science building, Sage Hall, with city representatives from Volusia County, county representatives, and local elected officials. The event is expected to run from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Matt Surrency, President of the Florida League of Cities, and State Representative Kristin Jacobs , and Stetson President Wendy Libby will welcome the summit participants to the meeting.

The executive director of Stetson’s Institute of Water and Environmental Resilience, Clay Henderson, assistant professor Jason Evans and professor Kirsten Work will provide an overview of water issues facing Volusia County. Representatives of the St. Johns River Water Management District and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection have been invited to speak.

The purpose of the Volusia Country Water Summit is to facilitate and build agreement between local jurisdictions to collaborate on water related issues that might affect all Volusia County residents. The summit facilitator is Marilyn Crotty of the Florida Institute of Government.

Deltona City Commissioner Heidi Herzberg is President of the Volusia League of Cities and has led this effort. “Across the state our local leagues of cities have come together to form compacts around important state and regional issues. In Volusia, the biggest issue has always been water and our cities have a huge stake in protecting our water resources, “said Hertzberg.

The goal of the Institute of Water and Environmental Resilience is to provide educational opportunities for the public about freshwater and environmental resource conservation and sustainability and to impact policymakers in this area. “Our local water resources are critical to our quality of life. The purpose of this meeting is to seek agreement on how our government agencies can work together to protect our water resources,” said Clay Henderson.

The meeting will take place April 30, from 9 a.m.-noon at Room 222 Sage Hall Stetson University and is open to the public.

Stetson’s Institute for Water and Environmental Resilience promotes interdisciplinary learning and research, advances policy development, develops leadership for solving challenging environmental issues, and demonstrates environmental stewardship as a core university value.