16th Biennial Symposium on Managed Aquifer Recharge in San Diego, California

From 5 to 7 March 2018 the INOWAS group attended the 16^th Biennial Symposium on Managed Aquifer Recharge (BSMAR16) held in San Diego, California, on the western coast of the United States. This was the latest event in a long series that started in 1978 in Arizona and included oral presentations, poster presentations, an awards luncheon, optional pre- and post-conference workshops and a field trip to a water desalination plant. The INOWAS group was represented in San Diego by Ralf, Felix, José and Catalin, who offered three oral presentations about the INOWAS DSS platform, the physical models developed in our lab and field facilities, and MAR opportunities in Costa Rica. We also had the chance to organise a half-day workshop on web-based modeling of managed aquifer recharge using the free INOWAS DSS platform. The workshop was attended by senior experts on MAR from renowned US and Australian institutions such as USGS, USDA, CSIRO, WGA etc. who learned how to use the INOWAS DSS tools. Overall, BSMAR16 was an excellent platform to extend our contacts network, especially among practitioners and MAR operators from Arizona, Texas and California. We thank the organisers for this opportunity, the Groundwater Resources Association of California (GRAC) and the Arizona Hydrological Society (AHS). Special thanks go to Adam Hutchinson, Recharge Planning Managed at Orange County Water District and Vice President of GRAC, for his warm welcome and excellent conference organisation.