Getting Ahead of Water Problems

Americans consume more than 3.5 billion gallons of water every day to run their households, and it’s no surprise there is an increasing number of critical water-related problems.

The director of the Utah Water Research Laboratory at Utah State University, Mac McKee, will present “Exciting Projects at the Utah Water Research Laboratory,” as part of the USU Sunrise Session series.

 

When: Friday, April 25, 7:30-8:45 a.m.

 

Where: Little America Hotel, 500 South Main, Salt Lake City, Utah

 

Researchers at the UWRL are currently working on more than 300 contract projects from around the world in an effort to deal with water issues. 

 

“There are three main water problems arid communities such as Utah and others worldwide need to address,” McKee said. “Water per person is decreasing, there is an increase in diversification of water uses, and there is a stronger demand from stakeholders to play a role in the decision-making process.”  

 

The UWRL aims to get in front of these problems and develop solutions before they get out of hand, McKee said.

 

Three projects Mac will discuss on April 25 include phosphorus management for the Little Bear River, ion-specific salinity probes and the UWRL “air force,” a collection of small, unmanned planes used to gather images and other data about the ground below.

 

For more information about the Sunrise Sessions or the UWRL, visit the Web sites. 

 

Contact: Mac McKee, 435-797-3188, mac.mckee@usu.edu
Writer: Annalisa Fox, 435-797-1429, annalisa.fox@usu.edu