The nation's leading drinking water research organization and the top Australian drinking water association have agreed to cooperatively fund projects and share research.
The agreement between the U.S.-based Water Research Foundation and the Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA) was developed so both organizations can work together to more effectively solve pressing water resource problems. Among their top priorities is the effect of climate change on drinking water resources. The partnership was announced a day after President Obama, in a speech to the National Academy of Sciences, pushed for greater international science and technology cooperation.
“Australia and the U.S. both face water quality problems and impending water shortages,” said Robert C. Renner, the Water Research Foundation's executive director. “Together, we can fund research more cost effectively and find answers more rapidly.”
In the next several months, the Water Research Foundation and WSAA will conduct planning sessions to write a joint research roadmap. The organizations will also share research, filling in knowledge gaps in their respective organizations. This fall, WSAA will ask the Australian government to fund parts of the cooperatively developed roadmap. The partners will also fund joint conferences, training sessions and knowledge transfer workshops.
Source: Water Research Foundation
