Story Map

UW-Madison is involved in a stunning array of water research projects around the state of Wisconsin and the world. These projects range from long-term research studies of our rivers and lakes, to finding solutions to drinking water challenges, to water-focused youth engagement and beyond. Water@UW-Madison’s interactive story map demonstrates the scope of this research and allows users to discover detailed information about UW-Madison’s water research in regions of interest to them. Want to share your own water-related research project? Tell us about it here! If you have additional questions, see our FAQs below.

Story Map FAQs

Please see below for Frequently Asked Questions about submitting projects to the Water@UW-Madison Story Map. If your question is not answered here, email us at water@mailplus.wisc.edu

This is an accordion element with a series of buttons that open and close related content panels.

Is this all of the water-related research conducted at UW-Madison?

Not by a long shot! The University of Wisconsin-Madison conducts water-related research throughout the university and around the world. Participation in this compilation is voluntary and depends on people submitting information to this website. Although the goal is a fully comprehensive listing, the story map is but a sampling of the total water-related research here at UW-Madison.

How do I submit a new project to the story map?

To submit a new project, enter details on this geoform. You’ll be asked for:

  • Project title and short name (50 characters or less)
  • Project location(s)
  • Project duration
  • Research team members and titles
  • Related departments or programs
  • Short description of the problem (500 characters or less)
  • Short description of what you did or are doing (750 characters or less)
  • Short description of what you found (750 characters or less, optional)
  • Links to news articles, blog posts, papers, or other related websites with more information about your project
  • An image (and image credit)

How do I update a project on the story map?

To update the photo or details related to an existing project on the story map, simply send an email with the name of the project and your desired changes to water@mailplus.wisc.edu.

How do I submit multiple locations for the same project?

If your project has multiple locations, first submit one entry with all project details and one location selected on the map. Next, submit additional entries with different locations selected on the map for each additional location associated with your project. For these additional entries, be sure to enter the same “Project Short Name” to help us link responses, but feel free to leave the remaining fields blank. On the public-facing story map, the same image and project details will appear at each location you submit.

How do I submit multiple images for the same project?

By default, we will use the same image for both 1) the thumbnail that is displayed when browsing the large map and 2) the larger image that appears when you select a project to view more details. If you would like for these images to be different, upload them one at a time using the “Select a File” button on the geoform. Please indicate which image you would like to be used as the thumbnail by including “thumbnail” somewhere in the image file name. Unfortunately, it is not possible to associate more than two images with a project.

Why isn't my project appearing on the public story map?

Once a project is submitted via the geoform, we have to do some manual work behind the scenes to get it to appear on the public-facing story map. If you don’t see it appear within a week or you are worried that something went wrong, don’t hesitate to email us at water@mailplus.wisc.edu.

Why is the form telling me that "a submission error has occurred"?

If you go to submit your story map and get a message that “a submission error has occurred,” possible reasons are:

  • There is a “<” followed by a “>” somewhere in your text, which the form interprets as containing a link. Quick fix: replace with words (e.g., “less than” or “under”)

This error is probably not caused by:

  • Incomplete entries (there are no required entries on the geoform)
  • Size of the attachment (attachment errors typically mention “attachment” in the error message)

If you continue to get this error, please email us (water@mailplus.wisc.edu) your photo and project information as well some details about how you accessed the form (what link you used, what browser). We’ll get your project up on the map from our end while we investigate the issue.