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Since its inception in 1957, the University of Waterloo has promoted excellence in water-related research and education. In 2009, the Water Institute was established to promote and demonstrate interdisciplinary water research and education, strengthen partnerships with leading water organizations, and communicate the impact of Waterloo’s research. During the second week of September, to kick off University of Waterloo’s Innovation week, the Water Institute will build on its foundation to promote water research by hosting Elsevier’s International Water Research Conference.

 Quentin Grafton is a professor of economics and director of the Centre for Water Economics, Environment and Policy at the Crawford School of Public Policy at the Australian National University. He is also the director of the Food, Energy, Environment and Water (FE2W) Network, and in April 2010, he was appointed the UNESCO Chair in Water Economics and Transboundary Water Governance.

Half a decade ago, Syncrude had no idea whether a frozen slice of wetland, revealing centuries-old layers of peat and soil, would thrive after being transplanted to a former oilsands mine in order to regrow.

Water Institute researcher, Jonathan Price, professor in the Department of Geography and Environmental Management, comments:

The impact of methane gas on climate change is growing as warmer temperatures accelerate microbial methane emissions in nature. Water Institute member Hyung-Sool Lee, an associate professor in Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, is discovering innovative ways to deal with this problem. His recent publication, “Kinetic study on anaerobic oxidation of methane coupled to denitrification,” offers new ideas about how to mitigate atmospheric methane efflux through anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM).

 Jill Crumb, Sylvie Spraakman and Nicole McLellan,

For the women in ImPONDerable, AquaHacking started out as an opportunity to meet other women passionate about the challenges facing Lake Erie; none of them imagined their idea would take them to the AquaHacking summit in September.

A massive survey of European waters has found that across the continent, climate change has caused flood times to shift — sometimes by several weeks.

A research publication by Water Institute member Nandita Basu and Collaborative Water Program student, Fred Cheng, was recently featured in EOS after the American Geophysical Union wrote a Research Spotlight on it. We've provided the text, written by freelance writer Sarah Witman, below.