Laurier Institute for Water Sciences
Water is our most precious natural resource. It is essential for human health and quality of life. Water cycling and healthy aquatic ecosystems are necessary for maintenance of life, economic development and prosperity.
Walkerton and North Battleford water contamination, the Red, Saguenay and St. John River floods, droughts in British Columbia and the prairies, and eastern Canada ice storms, are all evidence of the tragic consequences and economic impacts of extreme hydrological events.
The Laurier Institute for Water Sciences (LIWS) will be a multi-disciplinary, collaborative undertaking that will bring top researchers together to study the physical, geochemical, biological and societal aspects of aquatic systems. The focus is on research in three interconnected water-related disciplines:
Ø Hydrological Sciences
Ø Ecological and Biogeochemical Sciences
Ø Public Policy and Management
LIWS has the potential to address issues central to Canadians and the global community, including competition for water access, effects of changing climate on water resources, sustainability of healthy aquatic and coastal ecosystems, and development of regulations and policy related to water use.
Laurier will stand as a leader in carrying out scientific studies that will bring about well-informed water resource management decisions to ensure sustainable ecosystems. Areas of focus include fundamental and applied studies on hydrological cycles (including groundwater), cumulative effects of chemical and biological stressors, and advising on sustainable practices required to balance competing economic, societal and ecosystem pressures.
The mandate of the Institute is to grow and develop research and graduate student training in the three key areas (hydrology, ecology and biogeochemical sciences, and policy), ultimately providing substantive contributions to each of these disciplines. The Institute has a significant number of established and emerging collaborations with other university, governmental and non-governmental institutions in Ontario and beyond (see figure).
The first phase of the implementation of the Institute for Water Sciences is to bring together researchers from the Faculty of Arts, Faculty of Science and the School of Business and Economics at Laurier, whose focus is on Water Science, and to host them under a centralized administrative structure to support research and student training. Renovation of an exiting facility to house research laboratories and to further establish a centre of excellence within Ontario is the top priority of the centre, as is the establishment of enhanced infrastructure (including mobile labs and instrumentation), which can be used to undertake site-specific studies.
Visit the Laurier Institute for Water Science website, click here.
