The head of the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium will be keynote speaker for the 27th annual Mississippi Water Resources Conference in Jackson.
Jess B. Tupaz, head of the Ocean Springs-based consortium since 1994, will address the opening session of the March 25-26 gathering at the Ramada Inn-Southwest. He is among some 125 representatives of government, education and private industry taking part.
The annual event is co-sponsored by the Mississippi District Office of the U.S. Geological Survey, the Mississippi Office of Land and Water and the Mississippi Water Resources Research Institute. The institute is based at Mississippi State University.
The sea grant consortium includes nine institutions of higher learning in the two-state area, each involved in marine and coastal resource research, education and service projects. Members from this state include Mississippi State, University of Mississippi, University of Southern Mississippi, and the Gulf Coast Research Laboratory.
Tupaz, who holds degrees from the U.S. Naval Academy and the Naval Postgraduate Schools, is a specialist in meteorology and oceanography. He joined the consortium in 1991 as associate director after serving as commanding officer of the Naval Oceanographic and Atmospheric Research Laboratory at the Stennis Space Center in Hancock County.
Following his address, concurrent sessions will be offered on a variety of issues. Among the topics: aquatic life, wetlands, pesticides and toxins, and ponds, dams and reservoirs.
Registration begins at 8 a.m. on the 25th. The Department of Health is approving 3.5 hours of continuing education credit for water supply operators, while the Bureau of Pollution Control is approving 2 credit hours for waste-water operators.
For a complete conference schedule, contact Jean Daniel at the institute, telephone (601) 325-7356 or e-mail .