We’re excited to announce the newly elected executive committee of the Society of the Water Institute Graduate Students (SWIGS) for 2025-26! After a successful election this summer, the SWIGS team is ready to bring fresh energy, creativity, and leadership to the year ahead.
The Water Institute is pleased to launch its Fall 2025 WaterTalks, a three-part speaker series showcasing fresh perspectives on some of today’s most pressing water challenges. This year’s talks will span topics from groundwater use and the water–energy–food–poverty nexus in South Asia to advancing environmental justice and strengthening resilience to hydroclimate extremes.
Dr. Bryan Grimwood, Professor in the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies (RLS) in the Faculty of Health, has been awarded approximately $380,000 in funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) to lead a new research initiative entitled Tourism, ruination, and regenerative futures that rethinks tourism’s role in landscapes marked by environmental and cultural ruination.
When devastating floods swept through Pakistan in 2022, millions were displaced, and more than 1400 lives were lost. For Malak Kamal, a graduate architecture student from Quetta, Pakistan, it was a turning point.
A recent visit to Germany’s Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) has opened new doors for collaboration between researchers at the Water Institute and colleagues at one of Europe’s top technical universities.
Roy Brouwer, Professor in the Department of Economics, University Research Chair in Water Resources Economics, and Executive Director of the Water Institute, has been appointed to the Science Advisory Board – Science Priority Committee of the International Joint Commission (IJC), a binational partnership between Canada and the United States managing shared waters.
On March 22, the Water Institute marked World Water Day—an annual event bringing together students, researchers, and community members to reflect on our relationship with water. This year’s event aligned with the United Nations’ 2025 theme, Glacier Preservation, and featured insightful talks from distinguished speakers, a showcase of emerging research, and a special recognition of alumni driving change in water management.
The Water Institute is pleased to announce that Rachael Messenger-Lehmann has been awarded the 2025 John Parish Memorial Graduate Scholarship. This prestigious award recognizes outstanding research in fluvial geomorphology—the study of rivers, their processes, and how they influence the landscape.
Understanding ice dynamics in the Yukon’s St. Elias Mountains to prepare for sea level rise and protect water resources
A study led by a University of Waterloo Water Institute researcher has learned that climate change is causing an increase in algae blooms in the United Kingdom’s River Thames despite a four-decade-long decline in phosphorus loads. The study completed a detailed analysis of the river’s 150-year water quality record to examine these trends.