FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Between lawsuits and legislators, pollution and politicians, the Illinois River has become a critical issue in both Arkansas and Oklahoma. Scientists from the University of Arkansas will focus on the Illinois River at the Arkansas Water Resources Conference, April 23 and 24, at the Center for Continuing Education in Fayetteville.

"The first day of the conference will focus on the Illinois River controversy," said Marc Nelson, associate director of the Arkansas Water Resources Center. "This has become such a critical issue that we wanted to look at the science and find out what we really know and what we need to know."

Nelson will begin the conference on Tuesday morning with a presentation on a mass-balance analysis of phosphorus in the Illinois River. Although mass balance is a standard analytical tool in chemical engineering, it had not been applied to the Illinois River. Nelson’s findings, based on five years of continuous sampling, give a dramatically different perspective on the Illinois River controversy and possible solutions.

In addition to University of Arkansas scientists, Tuesday’s presenters will include Ed Fite, executive director of the Oklahoma Scenic Rivers Commission and representatives from the City of Rogers, the Beaver Lake Water District, the Lake Fayetteville Watershed Partnership, the Natural Resource Conservation Service and the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality. On Wednesday, the conference will broaden its focus to groundwater and watershed issues at both the state and national levels. There will be a poster session and reception from 4:30-6:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 23.

The Conference will be held at the University of Arkansas Center for Continuing Education and the Radisson Hotel in downtown Fayetteville. It will begin at 8:00 a.m. on April 23 and end at noon on April 24. Registration information and a detailed conference agenda can be obtained from the Arkansas Water Resources Center website at: http://www.uark.edu/depts/awrc or by calling (479) 575-5867.