The "2008 China-US Water Symposium" sponsored by the State of Wisconsin, University of Wisconsin System, Lawrence University, NEW North Regional Alliance and Environment & Public Health Network for Chinese Students and Scholars (ENCSS) was held in the United States on July 14~25, 2008.

The forum aimed to promote scholars and officials from China and the United States to make a systematic exchange of information and experiences of environmental issues, in particular the applications of freshwater resources management technology from the angles of policy, technology and business separately, and seek opportunities for bilateral cooperation in all fields. A lot of hot issues such as integrated water resources management, water ecological safety regulation, sudden pollution emergency treatment, rehabilitation of water pollution control and wetland restoration were involved in the forum. Prof. Wu changyu, the Deputy Chief Engineer of CRSRI attended the forum and made a statement.

The forum centered on the following issues: integrated water resources management, water management and water ecological security control; management of lakes and the Great Lakes region, algae control and the impacts of invasive alien species on water environment; the water pollution control, wetland restoration, municipal and industrial wastewater treatment, clean-up of contaminated sediment; water price and its control mechanism, as well as the impacts of dam on ecosystem and economic development.

Finally, Prof. Wang Zhaoying of  Tsinghua University, Prof. Wu Changyu of CRSRI, Prof. Ken Potter, Prof. Erhard Joeres and Prof. John Hoopes of  the University of Wisconsin, as well as Mr. Jeffrey J. Ripp of the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin (PSC) made a discussion, and an agreement was reached that, two parties should seek opportunities for cooperation in the fields of water pollution, water diversion, lakes and wetlands, groundwater, Salt water intrusion, sediment, ecological fish, vegetation and computer simulation technology.