The WaTER Center seeks to develop sustainable solutions that we believe are only possible through integrating technology, business and social understanding.
The mission of the WaTER Center is to promote peace by advancing health, education, and economic development through sustainable water and sanitation solutions for impoverished regions, using innovative teaching, research, and service/leadership activities.
The vision of the WaTER Center is to pioneer integrated solutions that revolutionize development and adoption of sustainable water and sanitation technologies for developing countries through teaching, research and service innovations. We will do this through integrating technological, business and human factors in pursuit of sustainable water and sanitation solutions.
David A. Sabatini, Ph.D., P.E., BCEE, David Ross Boyd Professor in Civil Engineering and Environmental Science, became the first director of the center. Sabatini's expertise is in the area of physio-chemical processes for water and wastewater treatment. He was initially joined by two associate directors, Keith A. Strevett, Ph.D.(biological water and wastewater treatment) and Randall L. Kolar, Ph.D., P.E. (surface and groundwater supply). Together they began to partner with faculty from CEES and across campus to become a national center of excellence.
Later, Robert C. Knox, Ph.D., P.E. (groundwater hydrology), Robert W. Nairn, Ph.D. (passive treatment with ecosystems), and Yang Hong, Ph.D. (water resources/climate change) joined the leadership team while Strevett stepped off. More recently, Jim Chamberlain(education/outreach and systems assessment/ optimization) and Robert Dreibelbis (public health, water and sanitation) joined the partnership.
The WaTER Center also works with an interdisciplinary team of faculty members from anthropology, business, education, geography, and public health that is committed to working together to address the global water and sanitation problem.
Developing countries are replete with interventions that fail because of:
The University of Oklahoma is uniquely positioned to address the challenges of fresh water and sanitation for impoverished regions because of the state of Oklahoma's long history with water problems. In addition to the Dust Bowl of the 1930's, Oklahomans have experience with ground water impacted by naturally occurring arsenic and fluoride and surface water impacted by historic mining practices, all issues that plague developing countries. The OU school of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science has been conducting research in these areas for over 50 years. Furthermore, OU has an interdisciplinary group of faculty who are very committed to working together to address the global water problem. Our approach and capabilities are primarily built around the areas of assessment, development and sustainability.
