News

Efforts by farmers to reduce the amount of fertilizer that reaches drinking water sources can take years to have a positive impact, according to a recent study from the University of Waterloo.

The study found that that, depending on the type of terrain, efforts to reduce algae-causing nutrients such as nitrogen from reaching water sources such as the Great Lakes and can take decades to bear fruit.

The following story was written by Sabrina Li, water student and MSc Candidate in the Department of Geography and Environmental Management at the University of Waterloo.

For many Canadians, summer time means time at the lake, swimming, fishing, boating, and relaxing. Nothing can spoil this experience like blue-green mats of muck, caused by algal blooms. These blooms negatively affect not only recreational activities – but also put drinking water source, property values, wildlife, and human health at risk. In the 1970s, scientists discovered that the nutrient phosphorus caused algal blooms, which led to new regulations and improved sewage treatment. Nevertheless, blooms continue to plague many Canadian lakes.

The Water Institute is thrilled to announce that David Blowes, professor in Waterloo’s Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, has been elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada.

Taking action to adapt to climate change will help protect the health, well-being, and prosperity of Canadians and manage risks to communities, businesses, and ecosystems. Preparing for the effects of climate change before they happen will make our communities stronger and healthier for this generation and the next. That’s why the Government of Canada is making significant investments to help communities build their resilience to climate change as a key part of our plan to address climate change.

Three short huts with solar panels on them sprout in Bob McIntosh’s wheat field near St. Marys, Ont.

Inside the huts are monitoring equipment that goes right to the tiles that systemically move water from his farm. His farm is one of six across Ontario with the monitoring equipment that allows University of Waterloo researchers to study how water, and especially the phosphorus in it, flows off of farms.

Two of University of Waterloo’s graduate students from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, both supervised by Water Institute member Monica Emelko, were recognized this summer by the American Water Works Association (AWWA) for their research. Gemma Charlebois and Andrew Wong are the first and second place recipients, respectively, of the 2017 Academic Achievement Awards for best Master’s thesis.

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.