It is my pleasure to introduce the Water Institute’s 13th annual impact report. The report provides examples of the scientific and societal impact that our members across the University of Waterloo’s various faculties, schools and departments have made between April 2023 and March 2024.

The narratives in the impact report complement important quantitative performance indicators like the Shanghai Ranking, in which the University of Waterloo continues to confirm its global reputation and leading role in the Water Resources domain. The university increased its ranking to 24th in the world.

The impact report highlights the rich diversity of available disciplinary and interdisciplinary water expertise that characterizes the Water Institute’s approach to addressing complex water challenges in Canada and elsewhere.

A highlight in 2023/24 was the 10th anniversary of the most interdisciplinary water graduate training program in Canada, the Collaborative Water Program (CWP). The CWP was launched in 2013 by the Water Institute with the support of a generous gift of almost $2 million from Canada’s biggest bank, the RBC.

The celebration brought back many CWP alumni to Waterloo, providing powerful examples of the impact that this interdisciplinary program has had on imparting the workforce skills necessary to advance sustainable water use and management in Canada and around the world. It was at the same time also a celebration of the CWP’s unique institutional design where the Water Institute manages program administration and faculties lead academic delivery based on an agreed upon rotation.

As always, none of the impact described in this report would have been possible without the scientific excellence, hard work and dedication of our faculty members, the students coming to Waterloo to study water in all of its multi-dimensional aspects, and Water Institute staff. Enjoy reading our 2023/24 Impact Report.