STONEVILLE, Miss. -- A governor’s task force is convening a summit Dec. 15 to explore and promote better ways to manage the state’s water resources.

The Governor’s Delta Sustainable Water Resources Task Force will host an Irrigation and Water Conservation Summit at the Mississippi State University Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville. The event will be held from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Capps Center.

Producers, landowners, consultants, natural resource professionals and other interested parties are invited to attend. Lunch will be provided.

Kay Whittington, director of the Office of Land and Water Resources at the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, will open the summit with a discussion of the volunteer metering program and task force progress. Jason Krutz, MSU Extension Service irrigation specialist, will present results from the 2015 MSU Row-Crop Irrigation Science and Extension Research program at lunch.

Participants will be able to attend four breakout sessions during the event. Topics include aquifer recharge, soil moisture sensors, irrigating sealing soils, efficient surface water use in the Delta, alternate wetting and drying in rice production, and a case study of Louisiana’s Red Bayou Surface Water Irrigation Project. Each session will be offered twice.

Speakers for the breakout sessions include producers and professionals from MSU, the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Yazoo Management District Joint Water Management District, Delta Plastics, Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality, U.S. Geological Survey and the Louisiana Natural Resources Conservation Service office.

The Governor’s Delta Sustainable Water Resources Task Force includes the Yazoo Mississippi Delta Joint Water Management District, Delta Council, Delta F.A.R.M., Mississippi Farm Bureau, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Mississippi Soil and Water Conservation Commission, and the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality. It was formed to develop and implement actions to sustain water resources for agriculture, fisheries and wildlife in the Delta.