Southern state legislators convened at The Water Campus in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for the CSG South Water Management Forum. The Forum was hosted by CSG South’s Energy and Environment Committee and moderated by committee chair Representative Jim Gooch, Jr. of Kentucky, and committee vice chair Senator Ken Yager of Tennessee.
During the Forum, legislators participated in discussions with water management experts from The Water Institute of the Gulf, Louisiana State University (LSU), the LSU Center for River Studies, Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, University of Texas at Austin, South Carolina Floodwater Commission, and many more. Louisiana Speaker of the House Clay Schexnayder hosted an opening reception to welcome participants to the Pelican State.
Discussions ranged from Louisiana’s science-based Coastal Master Plan developed by the state’s Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority to lessons from the South Carolina Floodwater Commission as well as the Dutch Dialogues model for addressing the challenges faced by coastal communities around the world. Participants also witnessed a demonstration of the LSU Center for River Studies’ Lower Mississippi River Physical Model.
Participants included:
- Representative David Hillman, Arkansas
- Representative Lynn Smith, Georgia
- Representative Debra Bazemore, Georgia
- Representative Marvin Lim, Georgia
- Representative Jim Gooch Jr., Kentucky
- Senate President Pro Tempore Beth Mizell, Louisiana
- Senator Bob Hensgens, Louisiana
- Representative Jerome Zeringue, Louisiana
- Senator Ken Yager, Tennessee
- Delegate Mark Keam, Virginia