Simon Fraser University
Engaging the World

A joint research study at the Pacific Water Research Center (PWRC), with funding from the Fraser Basin Council (FBC) and Mitacs, Creating Safe Cities for Salmon: Exploring How Government Policy Aligns with the Salmon-Safe Urban Standards, identifies salmon friendly urban development policies that will advance progressive land and water management in the Lower Mainland. learn more →

Bottled water producers will be watching warily to see where 21-year-old Mireta Strandberg-Salmon chooses to do her graduate studies. In 2017, she led her high school, Moscrop Secondary in Burnaby, B.C., to ban vending machine sales of bottled water. In January 2021, her student-led “Ban the Bottle” campaign persuaded Simon Fraser University, where more than 33,000 bottles of water were sold yearly, to follow suit. learn more →

Our attitudes and value systems affect the decisions we make, individually and collectively, around water. Do you think of water as a basic human right, as duty-based ethicists assert, or should our moral priority be to maximize benefits and minimize costs, thereby choosing to prioritize utilitarian efficiency of water management and distribution? learn more →

The COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the deep challenges of water security in many parts of the world. I argue that the shocks brought to our society as a result of this pandemic demonstrate the urgent need for a greater level of preparedness against future pandemics. learn more →

On February 4, 2021 the Executive Director of the Pacific Water Research Centre is speaking on a panel of experts on water security issues during the COVID-19 pandemic. The first three W12+ events of 2021 are part of the new W12+ Accelerator, “Breaking the Cycle: COVID-19 and Water Insecurity”, which dives into the complex interactions of water scarcity driving a global pandemic and the consequent water insecurity driven by the pandemic in urban settings. A series of two online panels followed by a hybrid online and in-person Drive-In will bring together diverse perspectives on these issues with a dual focus on COVID-19 as a driver of water scarcity and water scarcity as a key driver of COVID-19 spread. learn more →

PWRC Green Infrastructure projects aim to build on green infrastructure best practices by fostering strong multi-disciplinary networks of professionals to analyze institutions and encourage technical and legislative innovations. Green infrastructure (GI) has been identified by UN-Water and the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) as essential to climate change adaptivity and promoting global water security, yet few municipalities have made significant advances in GI implementation (Bowder, 2019; Revi, 2014). The Pacific Water Research Center is undertaking research on Green Infrastructure to help municipalities harness the many potential benefits of GI systems related to water security and urban well-being, such as rainwater management, improved mental health, habitat restoration, improved air quality, shoreline resiliency, and a reduction of the urban heat island effect. learn more →

As of January 2021, thanks to increased access to water bottle filling stations around our campuses, we are now phasing out single-use plastic water bottles in vending and dining areas. Resolve to bring your refillable water bottles to help reduce the impact of single-use plastics around our campuses. learn more →