Creating Successful Water Quality Programs and Policies

Gain insight into what makes water quality programs and policies sustainable to better address nonpoint agricultural nutrient pollution.

The fifth session of the 2026 season of the Soil and Water Conservation Society’s (SWCS) webinar series “Conservation Voices: Strategies for Conservation Professionals Shaping the Future.”

Research shows that agency staff play a critical role in turning water quality policy into effective programs and practices. In this webinar, Bonnie Keeler (Water Resources Center, University of Minnesota) shares key insights from interviews with agency staff who helped implement six nutrient reduction programs in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois.

Drawing on her and her colleagues’ research, published in the Journal of Soil and Water Conservation, Keeler highlights what agency staff had to say about the partnerships, tools, strategies, and community buy-in it took to put policy design into practice and how their programs might be adapted for use in other US states.

Attendees will gain insight into what makes water quality programs and policies sustainable so that states can better address nonpoint agricultural nutrient pollution.