The Water Center

Our collective expertise, both within the Water Center and across the University, can help strengthen water system capacities in the face of looming crises. Through strategic technical support to distressed water systems and communities, we develop novel approaches and tools that can be scaled for impact through our extensive network of public, private and civil society partners. Our approach emphasizes water equity and environmental justice considerations and is particularly applicable to small or under-resourced urban communities and the water systems they depend on.

The Water Center at Penn accelerates transformational change in urban watersheds through an ‘Integrated Water Management’ approach that addresses multiple challenges – integrating planning for water supply, wastewater and stormwater systems, protecting human health, and improving water quality. We help communities recognize the connections between various water systems, thereby encouraging a holistic approach to solving water challenges and engage stakeholders across social, economic, and political divides.

Changes to the hydrologic regime are already challenging the basic assumptions on water quality and quantity that underpin our complex infrastructure and regulatory systems. The Water Center at Penn supports city decision makers and planners in creating sustainable and resilient cities in the face of a more erratic and unpredictable climate. To achieve this, we take a trans-disciplinary approach to water challenges by integrating public health, ecology, technology, business, governance, economic, equity, city planning, design and climate change considerations in proposed solutions.

By connecting the University of Pennsylvania’s myriad of researchers across multiple disciplines, the Water Center leverages Penn’s capacity as a world class research institute. For example, the university’s finance, economics and risk management expertise can be used to address water sector finance and affordability issues, while computer science researchers can support water utilities ability to tap into the power of big data. We are uniquely positioned to bring real-world water challenges to leading topical researchers, subsequently supporting use and scaling of research outcomes by water sector practitioners.