Meeting/Event Information
2026 Montana AWRA Annual Conference
October 07, 2026
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
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Billings Hotel and Convention Center
1223 Mullowney Ln
Billings, MT 59101
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MT AWRA ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2026
October 7 - 9, 2026 | Billings Hotel and Convention Center, Billings, MT
This year’s conference theme is, “Water Science in the Age of AI”. We will have informative speakers and hope to foster lively discussions on the exciting opportunities and challenges that this quickly advancing suite of technologies poses for the study and management of water resources.
Call for abstracts is open through August 28th, 2026! Submit an Abstract.
Agenda coming soon!
HOTEL RESERVATIONS:
Room blocks have been reserved at the Billings Hotel and Convention Center. The special rate is only available for booking until September 09, 2026. Reservations at the group rate may be booked at:
Billings Hotel and Convention Center Reservations MT AWRA Room Block
Or, call the hotel and reference "Montana Section American Water Resources Association" to get the group or government rates.
406-248-7151
TOLL FREE: 800-537-7286
EMAIL: [email protected]
WEBSITE: billingshotelmt.com
Conference registration
REMINDER: You will need to sign up for a membership before registering! Professional memberships are $35; student memberships are $15 - sign up here. (This does not increase the cost of attending the conference - it's intended to help us maintain a more accurate and up-to-date membership and email list.)
- Choose only one registration type: Professional registration, Student/BSWC registration, or Water Legend registration.
- There is a $30 early bird discount for professional members who register before September 15!
- When you register, please select all of the activities that you intend to participate in. Even for options with no additional cost, please select that option if you will attend.
- Students and Big Sky Watershed Corps members must be signed up for a student membership to qualify for the student/BSWC registration rate.
- If you are a Diamond, Platinum, or Gold level sponsor, you will be sent a coupon code(s) that you can use to redeem your free registrations.
Register Now!
Conference Schedule (tentative; subject to change)
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Wednesday Events:
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9:30 am - 11:30 am - Join us for a morning workshop.
Roundtable discussion on how AI is influencing our work. We will have Chad Okrusch, Montana Tech’s new Chief AI officer to talk about how this is impacting the university environment, Zachary Holyman, the assistant state climatologist to discuss how AI and ML are being used in their modeling and how it is changing their workflows and Brett Oliver, Groundwater Modeler for the MBMG to share some insights on AI and groundwater modeling. They will talk a bit about their areas, and then we will have a broader roundtable discussion among participants talking about how we all might be utilizing (or avoiding) AI in our work.
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12:00 pm - 5:00 pm - Field Trip Lunch provided! (Field trip limited to 50 people.)
We will be traveling to Zimmerman Park to have an outdoor lunch (provided the weather is good) and to have some discussions about central MT aquifers and the Broadview Data Center. Jon Reiten, emeritus from the MBMG, will lead that discussion. Additionally, we will have Katya Koepsel from DEQ to talk about changes in water use in the Billings area and how that is affecting water quality, particularly nitrate problems in groundwater. We'll also visit the Billings Water Treatment Plant.
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5:30 pm - Hydrophile 5k Walk/Run To Be Announced The Hydrophile 3-(ish) mile run will start in front of the conference hotel. The run will start at 5:30 pm sharp unless the field trip runs significantly past 5 pm, then we will modify as needed with an update as soon as field trip attendees return to the hotel.
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6:00 pm - 8:00 pm - Happy Hour To Be Announced Dinner is on your own.
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Thursday Events:
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7:30 am - 8:15 am - Check-in and registration
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8:30 am - 11:00 am - Plenary session
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11:40 am - 12:30 pm - Oral presentations
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12:30 pm - 1:30 pm - Lunch
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1:30 pm - 5:00 pm - Oral presentations
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6:00 pm - 9:00 pm - Poster session and evening social; please indicate with your registration if you plan to attend
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Friday Events:
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7:30 am - Gather for coffee and conversation
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8:00 am - 12:15 pm - Oral presentations
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12:15 pm - Closing remarks and announcements
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Sponsorship:
Call for Sponsors
We invite you to support a community of scientists, natural resource managers, students, and guests at the Annual Montana American Water Resource Association (AWRA) conference.
The Montana Section of AWRA was founded in 1984 and consists of over 750 professionals and students that share the goal of promoting water resources research, planning, development, and education in Montana. To accomplish this goal, Montana AWRA hosts an annual meeting to provide a forum for physical, biological, and social scientists, engineers, and other persons concerned with water resources.
Your sponsorships and donations are vital for supporting student awards and professional development at our annual event. We greatly appreciate your support!
Board Contact Info
Ron Breitmeyer – President
Associate Professor, Engineering, Montana Technological University
[email protected]
Danika Holmes – Vice President
Regional Water Planner, Montana DNRC
Office: (406) 444-1451
[email protected]
Troy Blandford – Treasurer
Water Information Lead, Montana State Library
Office: (406) 444-7930
[email protected]
Madison Boone – Secretary
Ph.D Candidate, People-Places-Water-Lab
Montana State University
[email protected]
Tickets
$250.00 Professional Registration - Member Ticket
$220.00 Earlybird rate before September 15
$60.00 Student and BSWC Member Ticket
$0.00 Student and BSWC - Presenter Ticket
$100.00 Water Legend Ticket
$60.00 Field Trip (Wednesday 12 pm - 5 pm)
$0.00 Wednesday Morning Workshop
