News

The State of São Paulo, Brazil has faced severe water shortages in the recent past and may be heading towards another water crisis. During this time, the Water Institute has partnered with local stakeholders to help investigate some of the most important aspects of water security in São Paulo, and new and fortified partnerships are driving these initiatives forward.

Institutions around the Great Lakes gathered at the 2018 AquaHacking semi-finals in Toronto to present their solutions for the issues facing the Great Lakes. Competing teams were given five minutes to pitch their idea to judges throughout the afternoon at the RBC WaterPark Place.

Five of the 16 teams that competed were selected to move on to the finals in October, including a University of Waterloo team, WaterPuris, that is tackling the issue of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDC) in our Great Lakes.

There are 700 million people in 43 countries currently suffering from water scarcity. By 2025, 1.8 billion people are expected to be living in countries or regions with absolute water scarcity.

On June 17-20, Water Institute members and water experts from around the world are gathering in Toronto to discuss issues of water security at the First International Conference on Water Security.

Congratulations to the 11 Water Institute members who are recipients of the 2017 Outstanding Performance Awards announced by Vice-President, Academic and Provost George Dixon.

Last week, the Water Institute gathered University of Waterloo researchers involved in the Global Water Futures (GWF) project for a university-wide meeting to share updates and meet new members of the GWF core team.

It’s 8:00 in the morning in the Sindh province of Pakistan, and Sajida Awan is preparing to head back into the field to conduct a full day of interviews with local farmers. The temperature is rising, it will be 50 degrees Celsius by mid-day, and it will take her at least two hours to get to her location.

Elaine Ho, PhD student in Waterloo’s School of Environment, Resources and Sustainability, has always had an affinity for water. As a child, Elaine was fascinated at the world beneath the surface that is so different from our own.

Facilitating and promoting interdisciplinary water research and education is a primary role of the Water Institute at the University of Waterloo. On a regular basis, the Water Institute brings an RBC Visiting Fellow to campus to stimulate discussion and the exploration of collaborative research opportunities with Water Institute faculty and students.

For Water Institute member James Craig, surface water modelling started out as a side project.

Partners for Action director Shawna Peddle spoke to the CBC on the flood survey Windsor residents are being asked to take part in. In partnership with University of Waterloo researchers and the Red Cross, residents who have suffered the onslaught of floods in the area in recent years will be surveyed. The results will inform a national FloodSmart Canada campaign and provide insight into how to protect other Canadian communities from incurring similar damage.