Water Research and Innovation
Transdisciplinary scholarship for environmental resilience
Water research at UCalgary
The University of Calgary is committed to pioneering research and solutions for critical water issues locally and globally. Our focus is on fostering transdisciplinary research that addresses water sustainability, informed by diverse perspectives including Indigenous knowledge systems. Water is central to our sustainable future, and UCalgary is dedicated to making impactful contributions to global water security.
Focus areas
Key research themes include water resource management, climate resilience, and Indigenous approaches to water and environmental stewardship. By integrating knowledge from across disciplines, we seek to build adaptive solutions that meet both ecological and societal needs.
Impact
UCalgary is already a leader in water research, with a growing global footprint. Our work in water resource sustainability and policy informs practices not only in Alberta but also in international contexts, leveraging our expertise to tackle issues from water scarcity to climate change.
Want to connect with UCalgary water researchers and innovators? Email us at water@ucalgary.ca.
Thirst is a semiannual magazine with the goal of increasing visibility of water scholarship in all its forms at the local, regional, national, and international level.
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Why UCalgary?
Hear from UCalgary water researchs Dr. Kerry Black, PhD, and Dr. Martyn Clark, PhD, on what makes UCalgary a unique hub for addressing water security challenges.
Canada Excellence Research Chair: Dr. Deborah McGregor
Dr. McGregor, a renowned scholar in Indigenous Environmental Justice, leads research at UCalgary on climate and water sustainability. Her work emphasizes Indigenous leadership and community engagement, creating pathways for Indigenous approaches to sustainability that can influence both local and global policies.
United Nations University (UNU) Hub
The UNU Hub at UCalgary focuses on empowering communities to adapt to environmental change. This global partnership addresses water challenges through interdisciplinary research and training, preparing students and researchers to engage with water security issues across multiple scales and geographies.
UNESCO collaborations
UCalgary’s UNESCO initiatives contribute to sustainable mountain water management and resilience strategies. These programs connect UCalgary with global efforts to understand and mitigate water-related threats, furthering our commitment to sustainability and climate action.
Research facilities
At four research stations across Western Canada, UCalgary hosts water researchers from around the world alongside our own world-class scholars.
Latest water research news
In the News Water Canada
Mapping groundwater in southern Alberta
Civil engineering students take advantage of hands-on team learning experiences
Faculty members open doors to leading-edge teaching philosophies
In the News Tricia Stadnyk writing in The Conversation Canada
Canada’s water governance and management systems threaten the country’s water supply
Schulich professor says municipalities around the world are learning lessons from Calgary's 2024 water feeder main break
In new publication, Tricia Stadnyk explores questions about communication and infrastructure investment
Our researchers
Meet our diverse team of water research experts from the University of Calgary.
Professor, Svare Research Chair Integrated Watershed Processes, Dept. of Biological Sciences
Dr. Wrona holds a University of Calgary, Svare Research Chair in Integrated Watershed Processes in the Dept. of Biological Sciences and is a UNESCO Co-Chairholder in Mountain Water Sustainability. He has >30 years of experience in regional, national and international environmental research, monitoring and assessment programs in government and academia addressing climate impacts on freshwater ecosystems; multiple stressor and cumulative effects; environmental toxicology; and integrated watershed monitoring program design.
Previously, he was the inaugural Chief Scientist and Assistant Deputy Minister (Environmental Monitoring and Science Division) for Alberta Environment and Parks and the Vice-President and Chief Scientist at the Alberta Environmental Monitoring and Evaluation and Reporting Agency (AEMERA). He has held multiple research and senior international scientific roles, including serving as the Canadian Head Delegate to the Arctic Council (Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme) and to the UNESCO International Hydrology Programme.
CAIP Research Chair in Aquatic Ecosystem Health, Biological Sciences
Kelly Munkittrick has been at UCalgary since 2013 and was previously the Executive Director of Cold Regions and Water Initiatives at Wilfrid Laurier University, was Director, Environmental Monitoring and Risk Assessment at Canada’s Oil Sands Innovation Alliance (COSIA) from 2013-17 and held a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in Ecosystem Health Assessment at the University of New Brunswick.
Munkittrick is co-founder of the Canadian Rivers Institute, was Scientific Director of the Canadian Water Network, and has sat on expert panels and review Boards for the United Nations University, the Great Lakes Fisheries Commission Board, and the OECD. He completed his PhD in 1988 in Aquatic Toxicology at the University of Waterloo, and received a MSc in environmental physiology in 1983 and a BSc in fish and wildlife biology in 1980, both from the University of Guelph.
UCalgary Profile
Publications
Link 1 | Link 2 | Link 3
Professor and Canada Research Chair (Tier 1) in Sustainable Water Systems
Dr. Alain Pietroniro is a Professor and Canada Research Chair in Sustainable Water Systems at the University of Calgary’s Schulich School of Engineering.
Before his academic appointment, Dr. Pietroniro served as the Executive Director of the National Hydrological Service (NHS), which included the Water Survey of Canada, for Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) for 15 years.
Prior to that, he was a research scientist at the National Hydrology Research Centre in Saskatoon for 15 years. His research primarily focused on improving, developing, and evaluating hydrologic models, as well as understanding the sensitivity of water resources to climate variability and change.
He has published over 120 peer-reviewed papers and contributed to many book and chapters and special publications. Dr. Pietroniro also served as the accredited officer for the St. Mary and Milk Rivers for Canada for about 10 years and was the hydrological advisor for Canada under the World Meteorological Organization during his tenure at the NHS.
Professor (Teaching), Associate Dean Sustainability SSE, and Co-director (education) UNU Hub
Dr. Marjan Eggermont is a Professor (Teaching) and Associate Dean Sustainability in the Schulich School of Engineering (SSE). In addtion, she is the co-director for the UNU Hub at UCalgary, current SDSN co-chair (research), and one of the academic co-leads for Democracy, Justice, and Sustainability in the Institutes for Transdisciplinary Scholarship.
She is a Biomimicry Institute Fellow and has been working in the field of bio-inspired design since 2004 with a focus on visualization and abstraction. She co-founded and designs Zygote Quarterly, an online bio-inspired design journal to showcase the nexus of science and design.
UCalgary Profile
Professor, Department of Earth, Energy and Environment
Dr. Ryan enjoys the true challenge inherent in answering applied questions on subsurface water via field research. She leads the Eastern Slopes of the Rockies Rivers Groundwater - Surface Water - Climate Assessment project, and is integrated in the Evict Radon team with a focus on geogenic sources of radon in indoor air.
Cathy is trained as a geotechnical engineer (B. Applied Science, Queens University), but her heart is in water science (MSc and PhD in Earth Sciences, University of Waterloo). She was recently awarded a 25 year service pin from the University of Calgary (where she has 'graduated' from Associate Dean (Research and Graduate Education) and Acting Vice Dean positions) and has returned to teaching and research foci.
UCalgary Profile | LinkedIn | Google Scholar
Executive Director - Advancing Canadian Water Assets (ACWA)
ACWA provides the place and opportunity for the integration of research, education, science, innovation and informed policy for environmental and public health.
O'Grady has worked with the public and private sectors in areas including biotechnology development, laboratory management, environmental consulting and small business ownership. She more recently was the project lead for the first potable water reuse project in Alberta
Professor & Canada Research Chair, Schulich School of Engineering (Civil Engineering) and Faculty of Arts (Geography)
Dr. Tricia Stadnyk’s research focuses on the development of new data networks, specifically stable water isotopes, to support process-based hydrological prediction, development of tracer-aided hydrological modelling tools, and the production of water supply projections and uncertainty for operational water management under changing climates. A core aspect of her research focuses on the communication of water supply challenges and sustainability measures, and contributing to the revision od design standards that incorporate climate change.
Dr. Stadnyk is a Professor and Canada Research Chair at the University of Calgary, jointly appointed between Schulich School of Engineering (Civil) and the Faculty of Arts who is also the University of Calgary United Nations University Hub lead for Science2Action. She leads a transdisciplinary team of hydrologists, engineers, policy specialists, and artists who study water supply and security, including operational prediction and forecasting water supply under changing climates, with a focus on science communication and the braiding of multiple and diverse knowledge systems, including Indigenous Ways of Knowing.
Over the past decade, she has worked with government and industry on short-term operational flood and drought forecasting, guidance for peak flow assessment, and long-term hydrologic projections under climate change across Canada’s Prairies and the global pan-Arctic basins.
Professor and Schulich Research Chair in Environmental Prediction
Dr. Martyn P. Clark's research group builds mechanistic terrestrial systems models that can be used for a myriad of applications, including environmental forecasting (e.g., predicting floods and water quality threats), climate impact assessments (e.g., understanding climate vulnerabilities at multiple spatial scales), and Earth System prediction (e.g., improving the land component of Earth System models).
Dr. Clark is a Professor of Hydrology in the Department of Civil Engineering, Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary. He is also a Schulich Research Chair in Environmental Prediction and Executive Co-Director of the United Nations University Hub at the University of Calgary. Dr. Clark is elected Fellow of the American Geophysical Union (in 2016) and is the previous Editor-In-Chief for Water Resources Research (2017-2020).
Dr. Clark’s research focuses on advancing the science and practice of environmental prediction. He has authored or co-authored over 250 journal articles since receiving his PhD in 1998.
Professor and Head, Department of Earth, Energy, and Environment
Edwin Cey's research aims to improve the understanding of hydrologic processes that control the movement of water and contaminants in the subsurface, supporting more sustainable and holistic water management. They have particular interests and expertise in preferential flow in macroporous soils, the influence of seasonally frozen soils, groundwater-surface water interactions, the impacts of land use and urbanization, and groundwater resource management.
Growing up on a farm, he has always been interested in water and the crucial roles it plays in sustaining life. With degrees in Engineering as well as Earth and Environmental Sciences, he has worked in both academia and industry to find solutions for water quantity and quality issues across Canada.
As a groundwater specialist, his research focuses on the complexities (e.g., preferential flow, frozen soils, vegetation) that influence water and contaminant movement in the subsurface, along with the critical connections to surface water systems.
In collaboration with a variety of municipal, industrial, and government partners, he and his students employ field studies and numerical modeling to support sustainable water management.
Head, Department of Geography
Dr. Andrea Freeman is a geoarchaeologist who studies the impact of ancient river systems on human settlement and subsistence strategy. Using a combination of environmental, isotopic, and sedimentary indicators, her research provides data on the environmental context of ancient sites and retrodictive modelling of climate factors in the ancient past.
Dr. Freeman is an Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Geography at the University of Calgary. She specializes in predictive modeling of archaeological sites in fluvial contexts. She has been studying the greater South Saskatchewan River valley from an archaeological perspective for the last 25 years, beginning with two SSHRC funded projects from 2000-2009.
Dr. Freeman has expertise in all aspects of geoarchaeology, principally focusing on the physical processes involved in the preservation and removal of archaeological sites and the formation of soils in floodplains. She has over 35 years of experience conducting research on the archaeology of the peopling of the new world and is presently involved in the investigation of the Âsowanânikh site, a > 10,500 year old site in Saskatchewan. In addition to this research, Dr. Freeman has been involved in studies of the earliest agriculture in the American Southwest.
Director, One Health at UCalgary
Dr. Herman Barkema’s research program focuses on prevention and control of infectious diseases in livestock and humans, including antimicrobial resistance. He is the United Nations University Chair in Infectious Diseases in a Changing Climate.
Dr. Barkema is a Professor in Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Calgary, with a joint appointment at the Cumming School of Medicine. He is a United Nations University Chair in Infectious Diseases in a Changing Climate. Dr. Barkema’s research program focuses on prevention and control of infectious diseases in livestock and humans, including antimicrobial resistance. Dr. Barkema leads the Antimicrobial Resistance – One Health Consortium, One Health at UCalgary, and the Canadian Antimicrobial Resistance Network (CAN-AMR-Net).
Associate Professor and Chair in Energy, Resources and Sustainability
Professor Martin Olszynski's research interests include environmental, natural resources, and water law and policy. With respect to water, his research has focused on federal involvement in water management, especially in relation to aquatic habitat protection and pollution prevention. He is currently working on a book on water law and policy in Canada with UVic Professor Deborah Curran.
Olszynski joined the Faculty of Law in 2013, following several years of public service in environmental and natural resources law and policy. From 2007 to 2013, he was counsel with the federal Department of Justice, practicing law in the legal services unit at Fisheries and Oceans Canada. During this period, he also spent time on secondment to the Legislative and Regulatory Affairs Division at Environment Canada. Martin holds a BSc (Biology) and an LLB, both from the University of Saskatchewan, and an LLM (specialization in environmental law) from the University of California at Berkeley. He is currently pursuing a PhD in resource management at the University of British Columbia’s Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability. Following law school, Martin clerked for the Hon. Justice Denis Pelletier of the Federal Court of Appeal.
Professor, Faculty of Science & Faculty of Arts
Professor Deborah McGregor's research relating to water is focused on First Nation water law, governance and planning. She aims to build capacity in First Nation communities to self-determine their water futures.
McGregor’s research has focused on Indigenous knowledge systems in diverse contexts including environmental and water governance, environmental and climate justice, health and Indigenous legal traditions. She remains actively involved in a variety of Indigenous communities, serving as an advisor and continuing to engage in community-based research and initiatives.
Professor McGregor has been at the forefront of Indigenous environmental, water and climate justice and Indigenous research theory and practice.
Assistant Professor, Canada Research Chair, UNESCO Co-Chairholder - Department of Civil Engineering
Community-based participatory approaches to water and sustainable community development.
Kerry Black is an Assistant Professor and Canada Research Chair (Integrated Knowledge, Engineering & Sustainable Communities), in the Center for Environmental Engineering Research and Education (CEERE) and the Department of Civil Engineering, at the University of Calgary.
She received her PhD from the University of Guelph with research focused on sustainable water and wastewater management in Indigenous communities. Her focus is to engage in a cross-disciplinary research platform, incorporating technical civil and environmental engineering principles and research, with policy and socio-economic components, focusing on sustainable infrastructure for healthy and resilient communities.
Over the past 12 years, she worked extensively in the academic, public, private and non-profit sectors, employed in technical, scientific, policy, and management roles. The majority of my experience has included working with and for Indigenous communities on urgent and pressing infrastructure issues across Canada. Her cross-disciplinary research has been featured in both engineering and social science journals.
Dr. Black is a strong advocate for increasing diversity in science and engineering, sustainability initiatives and programs, and community development, including her work with Indigenous communities. As a non-Indigenous settler, her research work is guided by Indigenous partners and Nations, and in full and meaningful partnership and collaboration.