On May 10th, 2025, the West Virginia Water Research Institute held its second annual Mon River Sweep, which had a turn out of around 70 volunteers, including WVU students, staff, and members of the Morgantown community. As part of Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission’s (ORSANCO) Ohio River Sweep Season, the Three Rivers Quest (3RQ) Common Waters Program, housed at the West Virginia Water Research Institute(WVWRI), organized the event with help from Ascend WV for a 5 hour clean up, both on and off the water. Volunteers had the opportunity to collect trash on foot and by kayaking.
"Since June of 2024, West Virginia is experiencing one of the most severe droughts in a quarter-century, with water supplies and soil moisture failing to recover fully from prior dry spells. As we confront these environmental challenges, understanding the interaction between drought and water quality has never been more important."
Private support from the Colcom Foundation for West Virginia University and the West Virginia Water Research Institute is providing $3.5 million in financial resources to help bolster environmental sustainability and water research efforts at WVU and throughout the region.
Private support from the Colcom Foundation for West Virginia University and the West Virginia Water Research Institute
is providing $3.5 million in financial resources to help bolster
environmental sustainability and water research efforts at WVU and
throughout the region.
The 2023 ORBA/ORBCRE Summit took place on October 5th-6th, 2023 at Embassy Suites Cincinnati RiverCenter, located in Covington, KY. The Ohio River Basin Alliance (ORBA) and the Ohio River Basin Consortium for Research and
Education (ORBCRE) have hosted this annual summit since 1985 to provide an opportunity for academia, industry, and regulatory agencies to come together to discuss water issues across the basin. The summit had a feature keynote speaker, Colonel Jayson Putnam, Commander of the Huntington District, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. From 3RQ, Melissa O’Neal (Associate Director, WVWRI) and Rachel Spirnak (Water Resources Specialist, WVWRI) gave presentations.