Denver, April 28, 2009 -- The U.S. based Water Research Foundation (Foundation) and the Water Services Association of Australia (WSAA) have agreed to cooperatively fund projects and share research with the goal of more effectively solving 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 Foundation's executive director. "Together, we can fund research more cost effectively and find answers more rapidly."
In the next several months, the 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.
Founded in 1966, the Water Research Foundation is an international, 501c(3) nonprofit organization that sponsors research to enable water utilities, public health agencies and other professionals to provide safe and affordable drinking water to the public. For more information, visit the Water Research Foundation website
