Fall/Winter 2005/06 • Vol. 1 No.3
With the arrival of the fall season, several changes are occurring within the Institute all aimed at improving our reach internationally and enhancing our impact in the consumer community. Beginning with a name change, in November 2005, the former Brita Water Research Institute is now The Institute for Public Health and Water Research. The reasons for the change were several, but the major impetus for the change in this new organization grew from understanding that issues in water and health do not respect national boundaries and do span the globe. The Institute is working to develop collaborations with governmental and non-governmental organizations, here and abroad, with similar missions, and many of these organizations desired additional evidence of independence and separation of the Institute from the major corporate donor. Also, the new name directly communicates the focus of the Institute, in that we are committed to the improvement of public health worldwide through the support of research and education on water and health.
While the Institute for Public Health and Water Research (IPWR) completed all of the legal and organizational work to adopt the new name, another major change was underway. The IPWR now has permanent headquarters in Chicago! So, if you are in Chicago, please telephone me and let's schedule an appointment to visit.
Although the administrative, legal and logistical requirements of the IPWR consumed substantial time during the past few months, important strides were made in the Science Program. The IPWR announced the FY 2006 inaugural grants competition soliciting investigator initiated research grants around the theme of the “Health Benefits and Outcomes of Drinking Water.” This research program is intended to target children and/or adult populations. The key areas of interest are: the benefits and risks of drinking water consumption, and the water and health relationship. All faculty members, graduate students and post-doctoral fellows of domestic and foreign institutions and universities are eligible to apply, depending upon restrictions within the university or organization. The IPWR will fund up to four IPWR Fellow Awards at US $25,000 per award per year for up to 2 years. Up to three awards will be made for Research Grant: Investigator applications at US $100,000 per award per year for two years. The letter of intent is due by January 20, 2006. Applications will be received by February28, 2006, and awards will be made by June 30, 2006. For more information, visit the Science Program section.
We are very excited about the release of the Program Announcement and encourage all interested scientists to contact us to discuss a potential application. There are many questions in water and health before us, and the IPWR intends to make a contribution to the improvement of the health of people worldwide through funding research grants.
Another major event is the upcoming IPWR winter conference, Water Contamination Events: Communication with Consumers, January 30 and 31, 2006, at the Renaissance Hotel, Houston, Texas. The world has faced several natural catastrophes in the last year, including a tsunami, hurricanes and earthquakes, that have highlighted the difficulties of and questions about the provision of water to citizens. In each instance, cities, states and countries have been challenged with communicating information to the public about the safety of their water supply, providing non-contaminated water, instructing citizens on how to purify the water and how to protect themselves from contaminated water, and reconstructing services to ensure safe drinking water. Experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Drinking Water Inspectorate (UK), the American Water Works Association, and other national and international municipal water organization leaders will participate in the conference. The two day scientific meeting will be followed by a two day closed expert session to evaluate the information presented at the conference and prepare a consensus statement to serve as a guideline for future events. The IPWR plans to publish the consensus statement as well as the papers presented by the conference speakers.
And finally, the IPWR will present its first scientific publication with the release of the winter issue of the Journal of Water and Health, December/January 2006. The journal issue is a special supplement containing the papers from the June 27-29, 2004 workshop, "Current Critical Question in Research on Drinking Water and Health." The supplement contains papers from noted experts: Drs. Vincent Nathan, Mark Sobsey, Joseph Jacangelo, Mason Tomson, Mark Wiesner, Andrea Dietrich, James James, June Weintraub, Christine Moe, Patricia Meinhardt, Timothy Gilbertson, Joseph Cotruvo and Tim Ford. We are pleased to announce the publication of the supplement. You may find information on ordering copies at www.iwaponline.com/jwh/004/S1/default.htm.
It has been a productive period for the IPWR, and we look forward to our continued growth including an exciting conference and challenging grants competition.
Best regards,
Jennie Ward Robinson, Ph.D.
Dear Dr. Water
Dear Dr. Water, My fourth grade daughter is beginning to learn about environmental issues and conservation in school and from The Weekly Reader. We regularly caution her about using only the amount of water she needs for her bath and completely shutting the faucet. She has started asking all sorts of questions about water and water supplies. The most interesting question, and one that I did not know where to look for an answer, was how much water do we use in this country every day and how much water does every person use? Can you help me with the answer? Thank you. Mrs. Beverly T. |
Dear Mrs. T.:
Thank you for your letter. It is always good to be re-assured that students are learning about their environment and the world in which we all live.
The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), The U. S. Department of the Interior, is an excellent resource for information on questions like the one posed by your daughter (http://water.usgs.gov/watuse). Beginning in 1950, the USGS has compiled information from many sources in an effort to estimate the national water use. One very interesting fact is that in spite of population growth in the U.S., water usage has remained about stable for several decades. Power generation, agriculture and public water use are the three major consumers of water in the U.S. with electric power generation and irrigation topping the list. Only about 11% of all of the water used in the U.S. is used by public water supplies, which includes our drinking water.
Each day about 408 billion gallons of water is used in this country, or enough to fill 8 billion bathtubs daily! And it is estimated that each day about 100 gallons is used by every person, with the rest of the water going to power generation, irrigation, industry, mining and livestock.
It is very important that we educate our children about water, water use and conservation and the link between drinking water and our health. Please check the IPWR Resource Center for a fact sheet for parents about water and health. And, keep on encouraging and educating your daughter to be a responsible and informed water consumer!
Best wishes,
Dr. Water
Do you have a question about drinking water? Where it comes from? How it is cleaned? Why does it smell like chlorine? How much do you need to drink every day? Or, where to find information about your drinking water? "Dear Dr. Water" can help you. Send your question to dr.water@ipwr.org. Selected inquiries will be answered in the next issue of At Your Tap.