A Message from the Director, David Feldman

Freshwater is our planet’s most precious and vulnerable resource. While essential for life itself, challenges to its provision are too often overlooked. People across our planet, and here in California, face daily difficulty finding safe, clean, potable water. More than 40% of the world’s population lives in regions where clean water is increasingly scarce, while every day, nearly 1,000 children die from preventable water-borne and sanitation-related diseases. Freshwater is also a human security concern. Growing demands for food and energy, climate change-induced drought, and the fact that more than 260 river basins, home to over three billion people, are shared between two or more countries are all factors that lead to potentially worrisome conflicts.

Now in its 6th year of operation, Water UCI mobilizes seamless collaboration across the University of California-Irvine to conduct multi-disciplinary research, provide educational and outreach programs, foster workforce development, and advance policy solutions – all directed to solving the critical water problems facing California, the nation, and the world. Located in the School of Social Ecology – the motto of which is science driving solutions – the center serves to connect the water industry, government agencies, non-governmental organizations and K-12 schools with the vast resources of UCI and the UC system while also providing unbiased information to the public on the critical challenges facing freshwater today and into the future.

As director of Water UCI I am proud of our wide-ranging activities which have proven to be vital to our region and beyond. Faculty and researchers collaborate with Southern California water agencies to identify the most effective solutions to the threat of entire classes of emerging contaminants of concern. Our growing middle school program provides opportunities for young people to learn – first hand, from local experts – the challenges of water conservation and wastewater treatment. The policy and societal challenges of mining, using, and sharing water data across agencies, communities and sectors is another research activity that exemplifies our cross-disciplinary mission. And, opportunities for student and faculty exchanges with investigators in and around the Dead Sea will soon enable the dissemination of new knowledge on the water-energy-food nexus in arid and semi-arid regions.

We are committed to cross-disciplinary collaboration; dedicated to diversity and inclusion; and have the dexterity to examine timely issues. This year, one of our public colloquia features a panel of experts discussing COVID-19, while others will discuss environmental justice issues facing water provision in underrepresented communities. All our efforts in these and other areas include expanding partnerships with other universities in California and beyond.

Please visit our website and learn more about our latest research, educational, and outreach activities and engage in our various colloquia. I know you’ll be as inspired by the breadth and significance of the work of our students, faculty, and water industry partners as we are.