Water Conservation and Supply Management: Planning for Local Water Efficient Growth

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at Montana State University will present “Water Conservation and Supply Management: Planning for Local Water Efficient Growth” at an April 14 Friday Forum. The event will be delivered online via Zoom from 12:00 to 1:30 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

Jessica Ahlstrom, the City of Bozeman’s water conservation manager, and Kerri Strasheim, regional manager for the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation’s Water Resources Division, will discuss the City of Bozeman and Gallatin Watershed water supplies, water use trends, and current and future water use and supply management efforts.

Bozeman and Gallatin County are fast-growing, drought-prone communities. They face numerous water supply constraints due to their location at the headwaters of the Upper Missouri River Watershed, the impacts of climate change on water supply yields, and a challenging legal framework regarding new water rights appropriations. The city is prioritizing water conservation to ensure Bozeman has a reliable water supply in the future. On a larger level, the Gallatin Watershed basin faces similar water supply challenges.

Jessica Ahlstrom’s work focuses on strategic program planning and community outreach to educate residents about Bozeman’s water supply, drought risk, and the importance of water conservation to ensure a reliable water supply for the future. Ahlstrom graduated from Montana State University with a B.S. in land rehabilitation. She went on to work at the University of Arizona’s Water Resources Research Center. In addition, she earned a graduate certificate in “Connecting Environmental Science and Decision Making,” where she studied social and institutional barriers to data-driven decision-making and stakeholder involvement in environmental policy decisions.

Kerri Strasheim has been with the DNRC since 2005 and currently works in Gallatin, Park and Madison counties. She received her B.S. and M.S. in earth sciences from Montana State University, with an emphasis in geohydrology, microbiology, and surface and groundwater systems. Strasheim was raised on a flood-irrigated farm in Eastern Montana near Terry and learned to appreciate water from a young age.

Participants must register in advance and no later than 11:00 a.m. on Friday, April 14. For more information or registration, please visit the OLLI at MSU website at montana.edu/olli/register or call 994-6550. Upon registration confirmation, participants will receive an email with the Zoom link and instructions to join the program.

Friday Forums are offered on the second Friday of each month, September through May, by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at MSU. OLLI at MSU is a program of Academic Technology and Outreach (ATO) at Montana State University. ATO works across MSU to support and advance our land-grant mission through unique and innovative opportunities for outreach and engagement.