Exeter water engineers collaborate with US researchers on global water issues

The University of Exeter's, Department of Engineering, will collaborate with The University of Utah and The University of Arizona on urban water systems to make them more sustainable and resilient, especially for urban drainage and water resource distribution systems. 

Five different research teams at UK universities will partner with academics from universities across the US. The UK projects are looking at water treatment and purification, water re-use, storm water management, sustainability of supplies and water infrastructures. 

These five projects are supported by The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), and additional projects are supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) in the USA, with a combined funding of around £800,000 to supplement existing grant awards.

Expertise from both countries will be shared at workshops, symposiums, via visits and videoconference calls leading to new robust collaborations and adding value to existing research projects involving 12 UK universities.

Kedar Pandya, Head of Engineering at EPSRC said: “Building on the success of this year’s Engineering Grand Challenges Summit, EPSRC is delighted to be working with the NSF to support UK and US researchers to address key challenges in clean water for all.”

‘Clean Water for All’, was announced at the 2013 Global Grand Challenges Summit, where scientists, engineers and policy makers discussed how engineering solutions could solve the world’s most pressing problems by developing international co-operation and frameworks. Providing clean sustainable supplies of water was identified as a major priority as this global issue has societal, health, and economic implications.

 “The NSF and the EPSRC coordinated their investments to spur the creation of breakthrough solutions to clean water challenges,” said Pramod Khargonekar, NSF Assistant Director for Engineering.