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Written by Caroline Zentner
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Monday, March 22 2010, 9:38 PM |
On World Water Day, the University of Lethbridge netted $1.5 million in federal funding to develop the Water Hub, a web platform that will be a repository for water data, mapping, imagery and environmental science data.
“This funding and the development of a hub will allow the University of Lethbridge to make a difference internationally,” said Lesley Brown, U of L’s assistant vice-president of research, in a telephone interview from Ottawa shortly after Monday’s announcement. “We’re really excited about this announcement.”
Environment Minister Jim Prentice announced a total of $3.75 million for water quality research to be shared between the U of L and the University of Saskatchewan. Western Economic Diversification will provide $2.25 million in cash while Environment Canada will provide $1.5 million of in-kind support.
The funding will go towards research projects that will help organizations make decisions that will lead to better water management and preserve water quality.
At the U of S, the funding will be used to develop software that can be used by energy developers to better locate power plants. Once developed, the software will be marketed to utility companies, governments and equipment suppliers in the business of power generation.
Here in Alberta, the U of L is contributing $120,000 to the Water Hub project, both in cash and in kind. Cybera Inc., a non-profit organization that works with public and private partners to help launch new technologies that enhance Alberta’s competitive advantage in research and product development, is also contributing $200,000.
The Water Hub will allow water researchers to access and deposit data relevant to water and provide interactive web tools that will allow industry, academia and the public to use the information.
“The U of L will be centrally involved,” said Stewart Rood, a U of L professor and research chair for environmental science. “This is a mechanism that allows people to interact with different data sets that all relate to water.”
The Water Hub will also be able to accommodate new research results as they become available so it will become an ever-changing resource.
“In the past we’ve tended to analyze water quantity or water quality but it’s really essential to consider both at once. This federal investment should expand our capacity to weave together more complete data sets, in order to understand and communicate many aspects of water supply and condition,” Rood said. “The information framework will help us to understand the probably future conditions following from population and economic growth and from climate change.”
The projects align with Environment Canada’s commitment to a global water monitoring system that’s part of the United Nations Environment Programme.
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