Meet the forWater Network Leaders

Dr. Monica Emelko and Dr. Uldis Silins lead the NSERC Strategic Network of forWater. This pan-Canadian network, spanning 8 Universities, 23 researchers and both national and international partners, shares new knowledge on protecting drinking water in a changing climate and helps communities adapt to secure fresh, clean, drinking  water into the future.

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Dr. Emelko's team was among the first cited by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for identifying climate change-associated threats from wildfire to drinking water security through water quality and treatability.

​Monica Emelko's research interests focus on:

• drinking water supply and treatment
• source water protection
• microbial risk assessment
• stormwater and advanced wastewater treatment.

​She focuses on sustainable technology development and deployment, integrated resource management, climate change adaptation, and the protection of public health. Dr. Emelko’s research is currently funded by many organizations including the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada, the Canadian Foundation for Innovation (CFI) and Alberta Innovates.

She co-leads the Southern Rockies Watershed Project team, which evaluates the initial effects of wildfire on hydrology, water quality, and aquatic ecology. Her ongoing work involves active participation from over 3 dozen utilities and conservation authorities across Canada and the United States. Dr. Emelko has served as a technical advisor to the U.S. National Academies of Engineering, Science, and Medicine as well as several federal and provincial/state agencies in Canada, the United States, and Australia regarding regulatory development related to drinking water treatment, source water protection, and integrated resource management.

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Co-investigator Uldis Silins' research over the past two decades has focused on the impacts of natural disturbances caused by forest fires, floods and mountain pine beetle and forestry operations on water resources. Uldis and his team's main research focus is on a) hydrology (snow cover, flow regime, precipitation runoff dynamics, water balance and evaporation process, b) water quality / biogeochemistry and (c) aquatic ecology in riparian areas water areas.

Monica B. Emelko is a Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Director of the Water Science, Technology & Policy Group at the University of Waterloo. ​She is also cross-appointed in Biology, Geography & Environmental Management, Systems Design Engineering, and the School of Planning.

Uldis Silins is Professor of Forest Hydrology in the Department of Renewable Resources at the University of Alberta. 

Find out more about Southern Rockies Watershed Project https://srwp.ualberta.ca/

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