Published: September 02, 2008 10:18 am            

The Water Expert

Dr. Will Focht will lead national water resources institute

Dr. Will Focht speaks in acronyms.

Maybe that should be expected of a man whose resumé shows five and a half degrees.

The director of Oklahoma State University’s Environmental Institute has bachelor’s degrees in zoology and civil and environmental engineering. He has a master’s in political science and is a thesis shy of having a second master’s, that in microbiology. He also holds a Ph.D. in environmental science.

Focht recently added another accomplishment to his resumé when he became president-elect of the National Institutes for Water Resources, which represents the 54 state and territorial water research institutes housed at land-grand universities across the country.

As president-elect, Focht becomes part of the Executive Committee, made up of the group’s president-elect, president and past president. He will spend one year in each of those positions.

The president-elect plans the group’s annual conference in Washington, D.C., in February.

“They burn me out and then I get to be president,” Focht said.

The president does most of the testifying before Congress, which the NIWR lobbies for money.

The federal government gives each institute $92,000 per year, which legally has to be matched by at least $184,000 in non-federal money.

“The Oklahoma Water Resources Board matches our money one-to-one — they give us $1 of state money for every $1 I put up in federal money — and that just leaves one additional dollar for the principal investigators to match,” Focht said.

“They can match that through waived indirect costs — like overhead. We can waive the overhead, in fact you have to under federal law, or they can donate time or space. It’s not hard to get that third $1.”

He said the setup gives “a lot of bang for the buck,” as the Oklahoma Water Resources Research Institute, which Focht directs, does about $276,000 worth of research each year.

That has led to the comprehensive water plan the OWRRI is working on.

The four-year process includes five steps — local input meetings, regional input meetings, planning workshops, a town hall meeting and feedback meetings.

They are one year into the process and on the second phase. Regional input meetings (RIMs as Focht calls them) coming up include Sept. 25 in Enid, Oct. 9 in Tulsa, Nov. 6 in Oklahoma City and Nov. 13 in Seminole. The Seminole meeting covers the region including Stillwater.

There were 42 local input meetings (LIMs, Focht says) that resulted in 2,500 comments they have sorted into 54 categories. Those categories will be listed in importance by the public that attends the RIMs.

“Part of the goal here is to have a fair process, an inclusive process and a transparent process — nothing is hidden,” Focht said, adding it’s called FIT.

The whole process is designed to inform the public and get their feedback on what they want in a water plan. Focht said it will result in “the most sophisticated, advanced participation water protocol ever developed.”

“Sophisticated because it will have the needs, desires and preferences of the public as part of the plan, but also because we are spending another $5 million on the technical studies,” he said of the plan with a 50-year vision.

“This is what’s cool. They are being driven by what the people say.”

Another aspect is the metrics they have come up with for measuring their success. He said the EPA has heard about the plan and invited them to submit a proposal for the Red River, which would affect several states.

“This model could serve as a model for water planning anywhere,” Focht said. “NIWR is situated to play a lead role in getting that done.”

Focht can and does speak about the plan in great detail. In fact, he even jokes — using a water analogy, of course — about overloading those who will listen with information.

“Like a thirsty guy trying to get a drink out of a fire hydrant,” he said with a laugh. “‘I just wanted a little water.’”

Dr. Stephen McKeever is OSU’s vice president for research and technology transfer.

“For (Focht) to be elected president of that body is a significant achievement,” McKeever said. “It’s an influential position nationally. … You will not find anyone who is more enthusiastic about issues related to water resources, the environment and sustainability. If ever you have a question about any of those issues, he’s the man to call.”

        

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