Water in the West at Stanford
Water in the West is engaging in a strategically designed set of research and policy initiatives to develop and demonstrate solutions to the major water challenges facing the western United States. The challenges are formidable. The problems and their solutions have complicated technical and institutional dimensions. That is why the Program has assembled a strong interdisciplinary team of researchers at Stanford University, along with partners from other universities and the public and private sectors. This team will address the multiple dimensions of realistic integrated solutions to the region’s water challenges: ecological, economic, historical, institutional, legal, political, scientific, and technical.
The goal of our Program is a water system in California and the rest of the western United States that is sustainable from economic, ecological, political, institutional, and equitable points of view. Through extensive consultations with public and private sector decision makers and experts, we have concluded that Stanford University can contribute to this goal by focusing on three major opportunities to achieve dramatic, immediate, and measurable improvements in water management in the West: (1) better management of groundwater, including groundwater banking, and of surface and groundwater interactions, (2) expanded and improved water reuse, including use of reclaimed water for irrigation and watershed restoration, and (3) metrics and performance measurements to help move water systems to sustainability.
For more information about Water in the West, including positions available in the program, please e-mail Andrew Fahlund, Executive Director of Water in the West, or Jodee Schwan, Program Coordinator for Water in the West, or call 650-724-7609.
In 2011, Water in the West was the subject of a Sophomore College course taught on the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. Read more about the course and the work the faculty and students did on the river in the January/February 2012 issue of Stanford Magazine, including an interactive map of the expedition, and see some of the student's work at the Bill Lane Center for the American West's web site.
Photo courtesy of Visual Art Services / Stanford News Service
Project Partners
Stanford University’s Woods Institute for the Environment harnesses the expertise and imagination of leading academics and decision makers to create practical solutions for people and the planet. Building on the expertise of more than 350 environmental faculty members from a wide range of disciplines across campus, the Woods Institute is working to pioneer innovative approaches to meet the environmental challenges of the 21st century – from climate change to sustainable food supplies to ocean conservation. The Woods Institute carries out its mission by advancing interdisciplinary environmental research, educating leaders, and informing environmental policy and management practices.
Stanford University’s Bill Lane Center for the American West is dedicated to advancing scholarly and public understanding of the past, present, and future of western North America. The Center supports research, teaching, and reporting about western land and life in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.