CSU gets $12M to start network for urban water research

FORT COLLLINS — Buoyed by a $12 million cooperative agreement from the National Science Foundation, Colorado State University is leading a consortium of 14 academic institutions and key partners that are addressing threats to urban water systems in the United States and around the world.

The consortium is working to establish an Urban Water Innovation Network, which would create technological, institutional, and management solutions to help communities increase the resilience of their water systems and enhance preparedness for responding to water crises.

Mazdak Arabi, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at CSU, serves as director of UWIN. Engineering professors Sybil Sharvelle, Brian Bledsoe, Neil Grigg, Jorge Ramirez, Dan Baker and Scott Denning also are involved, as is biology professor LeRoy Poff.

SPONSORED CONTENT

How Platte River Power Authority is accelerating its energy transition

Platte River Power Authority, the community-owned wholesale electricity provider for Northern Colorado, has a history of bold initiatives.

According to a media release from CSU, the network will establish six highly connected regional urban water sustainability hubs in densely populated regions across the nation to serve as innovation centers, helping communities transition to sustainable management of water resources. Strategic partnerships and engagement with other prominent U.S. and international networks will extend UWIN’s reach to more than 100 cities around the world, the release said.

Other members of the UWIN consortium include Arizona State, Florida International, Howard, Oregon State and Princeton universities, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, the Berkeley and Riverside campuses of the University of California, the Baltimore County campus of the University of Maryland, and the universities of Miami, Arizona, Oregon and Pennsylvania.