The Water Institute Biennial Symposium is one of Florida’s most influential water‑focused events and a trusted forum for collaboration, knowledge sharing, and coordinated action on complex water challenges. By bringing together diverse perspectives from across disciplines and sectors, the symposium advances dialogue, synthesis, and shared understanding to inform research, policy, and practice in Florida and beyond.
Founded in 2008 in partnership with Duke Energy, and with support from the IFAS Office of Conferences and Institutes, the Water Institute Biennial Symposium convenes scientists, students, practitioners, policy experts, and community leaders to engage in interdisciplinary exchange around pressing water issues. Since its inception, the symposium has grown significantly in size, visibility, and reach, regularly bringing together more than 500 participants and featuring hundreds of speakers and posters.
Broad participation from across academia, government, the private sector, and nonprofit organizations enables the symposium to address complex water challenges from multiple perspectives and scales, integrating science, policy, practice, and community engagement to bridge disciplinary and sectoral dimensions of water systems and advance coordinated, long‑term solutions in Florida and beyond.
Water Institute 2026 Symposia By the Numbers
3 Day
Program
Expanded from previous 2 days
500+
Registrations
Across multiple sectors
300+
Presentations
Mix of panels, oral, and poster presentations
2026 Biennial Symposium Participation by Sector
62% Academia
20% Government
16% Private Sector
2% Non Profit
<1% Other