Join the Missouri Sedimentation Action Coalition for its 25th Annual Membership Meeting scheduled for 10 a.m., Friday, October 16, 2026 at the Edith B. Siegrist Vermillion Public Library at 18 Church Street, Vermillion, South Dakota.
The meeting is free and open to the public. Interested people are encouraged to attend.
Keynote speaker Tim Cowman will discuss how the Missouri River acts as an important source of recharge to the Missouri aquifer, which is a source of ground water for cities, a regional water system, and a large number of irrigation wells. Cowman is State Geologist and Administrator of the South Dakota Geological Survey, which is a Program in the South Dakota Department of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Impacts of bed degradation below Gavins Point Dam on the river, floodplain, and aquifer will also be explored in Cowman’s presentation, entitled “River-Aquifer Interactions on the Missouri River Floodplain.”
Cowman’s work on the Missouri River includes cause and effect of sedimentation in the Lewis and Clark Lake Delta, flood impacts, water quality characterization, and documenting changes to the river since the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
Additional business for MSAC’s annual meeting includes a Board of Directors member election. MSAC’s Board of Director members with terms expiring are: Paul Lepisto, of Pierre; Mary Hurd, of rural Wagner; and Alisha Bartling, of Niobrara/Santee Sioux Nation Environmental Office. All are at-large board of director members. Membership includes four classes of members (Class I-Government, Class II-Organizations, Class III-Commercial, Class IV-Individuals).
MSAC, a 501c3 nonprofit organization, was organized in 2001. It is dedicated to educating the public and to promoting the intelligent use of all available programs and funds to alleviate the sedimentation-caused problems of the Missouri River main-stem reservoirs. MSAC supports a sustainable approach to reservoir management, envisioning doing what is necessary to extend the storage capacity of the reservoir as far into the future as possible recognizing the value of our most precious resource – water.
Those unable to attend in person October 16, will have the option of joining remotely via Zoom link. To attend remotely, register at www.keepitwater.org to obtain the webinar link or email MSAC at msacinfo@keepitwater.org.