Statewide water association names McAnally president during November conference

November 12, 2012

STARKVILLE, Miss. – William H. McAnally will officially take the helm of the Mississippi Water Resources Association during a meeting in Biloxi, Miss.

The associate director of Mississippi State University’s Geosystems Research Institute and fellow of the Northern Gulf Institute will be sworn in Nov. 9, the final day of the organization’s annual conference.

Sen. Roger Wicker will deliver the conference’s keynote address. A member of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, he will speak about the importance of Mississippi’s 16 ports to the state’s economy.

McAnally said he looks forward to leading the organization and helping to bring attention to the importance of healthy water resources to Mississippi’s economy and quality of life.

“Mississippi’s water sustains our agriculture, industry, tourism, transportation and ecosystem,” McAnally said. “The Mississippi Water Resources Association works to ensure that our children will continue to enjoy abundant clean water.”

With more than 40 years of experience as an engineer, McAnally’s current research focuses on ecosystem-based management, a movement that stresses a system-wide approach to management rather than the more traditional piece-by-piece approach.

McAnally earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Arizona State University. He holds master’s and doctoral degrees in coastal and oceanographic engineering from the University of Florida. He came to Mississippi State in 2002 as a research professor in the Bagley College of Engineering, after more than three decades with the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center in Vicksburg, Miss.

The state of Mississippi’s public ports are located on the Gulf of Mexico, the Mississippi River and the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, and are considered a low-cost, environmentally-friendly option for freight shipping and facilitating international trade.

Deirdre McGowan, executive director for the Mississippi Water Resources Association, said the state’s ports employ more than 93,000 people and support nearly $6.5 billion in contributions to the state’s economy.

She said the association promotes the advancement all of the state’s water resources through seminars, engineering and management, and analysis of system to help meet the water needs of Mississippi’s citizens and provide sustainable international economic opportunities through its ports and waterways.

More information about the Mississippi Water Resources Association can be found at www.mswater.org.