Water

Ensuring access to clean water for drinking, food production, industrial uses, and more—while simultaneously protecting aquatic ecosystems—is a multifaceted and complex process. Solutions cannot be developed in isolation and will vary across regions, ecosystems, and economies. 

To address this challenge, the University of Michigan is focusing significant research in the area of Sustainable Freshwater Systems, with the goal of improving human access to clean water and developing solutions to increase the resiliency of the Great Lakes and aquatic ecosystems throughout the world. 

Critical components of U-M's Freshwater research theme include:

• Human Access to Clean Water – Improving human health by developing and deploying clean water technologies and infrastructure to eliminate known and emerging contaminants that threaten water resources in the developed and developing world.

• Aquatic Ecosystem Health – Improving the health of freshwater ecosystems and the services they provide by mitigating threats from climate change, invasive species, resource extraction, and chemical pollutants.

• Great Lakes Restoration – Developing and refining technical, policy, and behavioral approaches to restore and protect the Great Lakes and the goods and services provided by this critically important freshwater ecosystem.