Wyoming Water Forum

September 8, 2026: The Wyoming State Engineer’s Office will give an update on the Voluntary Water Conservation Program followed by an opportunity for questions and comments. 

October 13, 2026: TBA

November 10, 2026: Justin Bowen , Understanding Water Markets in Wyoming 

Justin obtained his PhD in Hydrology from the University of Wyoming, where he developed hydrologic-allocation and decision-support models for the Popo Agie and Clear Creek Conservation Districts. He now works for WestWater Research, a water resource economics firm based in Fort Collins, CO, that focuses on water supply planning, acquisition, and the tracking of market transactions through Waterlitix, the most comprehensive water transaction database in the Western U.S. 

Water markets have emerged as a valuable tool for reallocating water to high-value economic uses in the fully appropriated, supply-constrained regions of the Western U.S. Wyoming's water markets operate across four administrative divisions, each shaped by distinct demands and interstate compact obligations, and are characterized by tight state oversight that keeps outright sales rare and pushes most activity into temporary water use lease agreements. This session offers a summary of Wyoming water markets: how they work, how fair market value is determined, what transaction activity looks like today, and how participants can leverage market transactions for water supply planning. 

December 8, 2026: Nutrient Cycling and Toxin Dynamics in a High Elevation Watershed with Harmful Cyanobacterial Blooms: Brooks Lake, Wyoming

• Michael Wachtendonk: Natural Resource Analyst,Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality

• Félix Brédoire: Research Scientist at the University of Wyoming

• Samantha Pena: Graduate student at the University of Wyoming

Harmful cyanobacterial blooms (HCBs) are commonly associated with eutrophication driven by anthropogenic nutrient inputs, yet toxic blooms also occur in high-elevation ecosystems with limited human disturbance. We investigated the environmental conditions, nutrient sources and cycling, and spatial and temporal patterns of cyanobacterial blooms and cyanotoxins in the Brooks Lake watershed in western Wyoming. We characterized physicochemical conditions and productivity across multiple lakes and evaluated the putative nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) sources throughout the watershed, including precipitation, wastewater lagoon effluent from a working lodge, tributaries, lakes, and the watershed outlet. We measured total and inorganic N and P concentrations, evaluated N:P stoichiometry, and used stable isotope ratios (15N/14N, 18O/16O) to identify nitrate sources and transformations. Biological fixation of atmospheric N2 was assessed using phytoplankton community composition, heterocyst abundance, and seston N isotopes. Phytoplankton and cyanotoxins were monitored throughout the growing season, with cyanotoxins measured using discrete water samples and passive Solid Phase Adsorption Toxin Tracking (SPATT).

Most lakes exhibited relatively high primary productivity, with chlorophyll-α levels greater than those of other lakes located in the Western Mountain ecoregion (WME) of the US, and were classified as mesotrophic to eutrophic. Typical symptoms of eutrophication, including elevated epilimnetic pH and hypolimnetic anoxia, limited available habitat for cold-water aquatic life in most lakes. Surface waters in the Brooks Lake watershed were rich in total P, comparable in total N, and had a low TN:TP ratio relative to other lakes and rivers located in the WME, suggesting biological activity is N limited in this ecosystem. The presence of heterocystous N-fixing phytoplankton and seston isotopic signatures provided evidence of biological N fixation. Nitrate isotope signatures suggest most of nitrate in the system is derived from microbial nitrification and experiences denitrification in the lakes during summer. Multiple lines of evidence indicated the lodge wastewater effluent was not a major nutrient source to Brooks Lake, with estimated effluent contributions representing less than 4% of total nutrient loading. Cyanobacterial blooms and cyanotoxin concentrations varied substantially among lakes and throughout the growing season. Brooks and Rainbow Lakes exhibited the highest total microcystin concentrations, exceeding the US EPA recreational criterion. Within Brooks Lake, cyanotoxin concentrations were generally higher at littoral than pelagic sites and typically increased throughout the growing season before peaking in early September.

Together, these findings demonstrate that productive and toxic cyanobacterial blooms can occur in high-elevation lakes despite limited anthropogenic nutrient inputs, and highlight the importance of geological background, nutrient cycling, N fixation, lake-specific conditions, and spatial and temporal variability in understanding bloom development and toxicity.

January 12, 2027: 

February 9, 2027:   

March 9, 2027:  Ye Zhang, University of Wyoming: Elucidating Mountain Front Aquifer Recharge Using Machine Learning, Hydrogeochemistry, and Electrical Resistivity Surveys 

Ye Zhang is a professor of hydrogeology at the Department of Geology and Geophysics at the University of Wyoming. Trained as a groundwater modeler, her current research explores the joint analysis of hydrological measurements with remote-sensing, hydrochemical, isotopic, and geophysical data to help understand subsurface unsaturated and saturated flow and transport processes to improve groundwater prediction. 

Communities in the semi-arid American West frequently depend on aquifers that are refilled mainly by snow and rain in nearby mountains. At a site in southeast Wyoming with low water use, we monitored an aquifer system in the Denver Basin and mountain streams that drain into the Basin every hour for ten years (2016-present) to learn how the aquifer refills and whether we can predict its levels. Water levels in the aquifer system fell over the decade. Strikingly, even in a year with normal total precipitation the water level decline continued—showing that mountain snow, not rainfall alone, does most of the refilling. When mountain snow is scarce, the aquifer loses more than it gains. Along one stream, repeated electrical imaging revealed that water seeps in through cracks and sinkholes beneath the stream, rather than evenly across the land surface. Using this understanding, computer models are being developed to forecast groundwater levels up to two weeks ahead. As snow droughts intensify with climate change, these findings offer a potentially transferable way to anticipate and manage groundwater. 

April 13, 2027: Eli Boardman, Mountain Hydrology: Snow Water Supply Forecasting in the Wyoming Range and Green River Basin

Mountain Hydrology LLC will share the current operations, seasonal forecast outlook, and future plans for snow water supply forecasting in partnership with SEO under the Bureau of Reclamation Snow Water Supply Forecasting Program (pending application).

May 11, 2027: Lindsay Patterson, PFAS in Wyoming: What We Do and Do Not Know 

Lindsay is the Emerging Contaminants Coordinator for the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality’s Water Quality Division, where she leads efforts to address unstudied or emerging contaminants—such as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS)—that pose potential risks to public health and the environment. Lindsay has been with the Water Quality Division for over 15 years, holds a Master’s Degree in Ecology from Colorado State University, a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Biology from Colgate University, and completed the Professional Residency in Environmental Education at the Teton Science Schools. 

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), often called "forever chemicals," present one of today’s most complex environmental challenges. Used in hundreds of products for decades—and still widely used where alternatives do not yet exist—PFAS are persistent in the environment and can be toxic to humans and animals at extremely low concentrations. The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (WDEQ) is leading proactive efforts to address PFAS across the state. Key initiatives include monitoring public water systems and private wells, helping Wyoming's fire departments and airports transition away from PFAS-containing firefighting foams, and working with stakeholders to develop and implement a statewide strategy to protect human and animal health, minimize new releases to the environment, and address contaminated sites. WDEQ will provide a high-level overview of what PFAS are, how they end up in the environment, federal actions related to PFAS that impact Wyoming, monitoring results, and other initiatives. 

IrrMapper Presentation

IrrMapper Presentation Recording

Cloud Seeding Presentation Recording

Wyoming Association of Rural Water Presentation

Crow Creek Hydrology Presentation

Crow Creek Hydrology Presentation Recording

USGS: Capturing Irrigated Lands Presentation

USGS: Capturing Irrigated Lands Presentation Recording

Demand Management Demonstration Project Presentation

USGS: Wyoming Stream Stats Presentation Recording

USGS: Suspended Sediment Data Presentation Recording

USGS: 3D National Topography Model