Water Centre taps into U of C expertise

by Greg Harris

University of Calgary researchers are looking forward to contributing to the success of a new Pan-Albertan water research initiative, which is designed to address important issues related to the province’s water resources.

Announced on Oct. 15 at a news conference in downtown Calgary, the new Alberta Ingenuity Centre for Water Research will bring together scientists, engineers and social scientists from U of C, the University of Alberta and the University of Lethbridge to look at pressing water-related research questions.

The collaborative centre will be a partnership among the three research universities in the province, according to Ed McCauley, a U of C biology professor and one of three co-directors of the centre.

“ There are so many issues related to water, including the interaction between quality and quantity in the province, the linkage between water availability and growth and prosperity, and the demand by our public for a safe and reliable water supply – whether it be for drinking water, for tourism or for agriculture,” says McCauley, who also holds a Canada Research Chair in Population Ecology.

“ The idea is that we’ll identify the research problems, then draw together the research talent to tackle them, irrespective of what institutions the researchers are from.”

Alberta Ingenuity is providing $1.5 million to the centre in the first year of a five-year award; total funding could reach $7.5 million.

U of C expertise will contribute to each of the four themes of the centre: watersheds; water ecology; safety of water and wastewater; and economics, policy and risk.

All told, a dozen U of C researchers are expected to take part in the project.
A host of projects are under consideration, including an exam-ination of the methods of detecting and eliminating pathogens in the watershed, which is a more effective and likely less costly solution than treating the entire water supply.

Alberta’s Minister of Environment has developed a “Water for Life” Strategy. The Alberta Ingenuity Centre for Water Research could be an important vehicle for providing objective scientific information for policy development and implementation.

System wide, 10 Canada Research Chairs will be invested in the centre, including three from U of C.

“ This is really going to create a lot of opportunities for building research capacity among faculties at U of C and strong collaborative partnerships among research groups at the U of C, U of A, and U of L,” McCauley says.