Please call 1-877-887-2261 and ask for the Nevada Water Resources 2026 group rate. The direct booking link can be found HERE.
 $89 Monday-Thursday
$199 Saturday & Sunday

*The HOTEL will waive the $39.00 resort fee per night for the group

Deadline for the Conference rate is December 31, 2025
Tuscany Property Map

Please visit the 2026 Attendee Page for information.

with Dr. Tracie Jackson, Subject Matter Expert Hydrologist, Barrick Gold Global Closure Department & Keith Halford, Halford Hydrology LLC

Groundwater models are developed because questions need to be answered.  Regional effects of developing groundwater resources on sensitive ecosystems, existing water rights, and contaminant transport are typical questions, where water managers and society at large expect useful answers. Hydrologists address these questions by developing calibrated groundwater models because problems are often too complex for simple analytical approaches. The lack of alternatives has been noted succinctly by John Bredehoeft, "... if you want to make predictions about how these systems are going to behave, this is the only tool you've got. This is it. You don't have anything else."  Predictive utility depends on agreement between actual and estimated hydraulic properties at scales that are defined by posed questions.  

The “Obtaining Useful Answers from Groundwater Models” workshop will address necessary elements for developing and reporting useful groundwater models.  Topics will follow steps for developing a groundwater-flow model. These include developing a conceptual model, numerically approximating observed features, identifying measured quantities for calibration, distributing hydraulic properties, minimizing differences between measured and simulated quantities through calibration, testing alternative models, and answering original and ancillary questions.  Effects of distributing recharge with modified Maxey-Eakin, explicitly simulating mountain blocks, and discretization on model development will be discussed specifically.  Relative merits of imposing hydrologic wishes on hydraulic property distributions with zones or pilot points and Tikhonov regularization will be demonstrated.  Reporting groundwater-model results also will be discussed with an emphasis on clearly presenting simulated hydraulic properties and keeping model results relevant.  Presented material will be appropriate for hydrologists, engineers, managers, lawyers, and all parties affected by groundwater-model results.

Biography for Tracie Jackson

Biography for Keith Halford