News

Twelve innovative projects will share a $10 million (USD) competition pool to tackle flooding in some of the world’s most vulnerable communities. The partnership between the Global Resilience Partnership (GRP) and Z Zurich Foundation of Zurich Insurance, will see grants of up to $1 million (USD) awarded to teams offering innovative solutions to issues affecting flood-prone communities in the Horn of Africa and South and Southeast Asia.

The story includes comments by Water Institute member Chris Fletcher, of Geography and Environmental Management and the Interdisciplinary Centre on Climate Change.

Global water issues are becoming increasingly complex and often require a collaborative approach across a breadth of disciplines. Facilitating collaboration and promoting innovation in interdisciplinary research is part of the Water Institute’s mission. One of the ways this is accomplished is through the Water Institute’s Seed Grant Program.

Global Water Futures (GWF): Solutions to Water Threats in an Era of Global Change

The GWF program is a collaborative initiative between multiple Canadian universities and partner organizations funded through the Canada First Research Excellence Fund. GWF aims to deliver risk management solutions for water resources and services – informed by leading edge water science and supported by innovative decision-making tools – in Canada and throughout the cold regions of the world.

Three Water Institute members – Philippe Van Cappellen (earth and environmental sciences), Nandita Basu (earth and environmental sciences and civil and environmental engineering) and Roy Brouwer (economics) – will receive more than $550,000 to address persistent, long-term pollution created by excess fertilizers in the lakes, rivers and wetlands in several parts of the world.

Water Institute member Juewen Liu will receive more than $100,000 over three years from the Ontario Ministry of Environment and Climate Change for research initiatives that test pathogens and chemical contaminants in water.

Interdisciplinary approaches are key when investigating potential impacts from climate change on human, economic and environmental systems. Unexpected changes to the quantity and quality of water available to local communities and environments can have wide-ranging effects, including impacting public health, environmental resilience, and agricultural and food security. Four Water Institute researchers were recently awarded funding from the Canadian Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Advanced Scholars Program to build institutional capacity in select Commonwealth countries to address linkage

During World Water Day celebrations on March 22, the Water Institute and the de Gaspé Beaubien Foundation announced an exciting three-year partnership that will combine water expertise and technology to help mitigate the threats facing our Great Lakes.

Roy Brouwer, Executive Director, Water Institute; Claude Perras, Executive Director, de Gaspé Beaubien Foundation

Dr. Joan Rose – winner of the 2016 Stockholm Water Prize – is an international expert in water microbiology, water quality and public health safety at Michigan State University. Professor Rose and her team, whom she calls “water detectives,” investigate waterborne disease outbreaks globally to determine how they can be stopped, and prevented. 

Collaborative Water Program student, Danielle Lindamood, was accepted into the "Water Innovation Lab - India" program in the fall of 2016. It brought together 35 students and water practitioners from around the world for a two-week field experience in locations around India. She spent two weeks overseas exploring different water problems and contexts, and presenting innovative ideas for solutions.

Below she has written about her experience in India and her experience in being a part of the Water Institute’s Collaborative Water Program.