Water Resources and Management Center

Concept:
Expertise in water science and policy at UCR is largely but not exclusively centered in the Environmental Sciences, Earth Sciences, and Environmental Engineering Programs. There is also substantial expertise at the US Salinity laboratory, whose scientists collaborate closely with UCR and who have held adjunct appointments. In all, approximately 20 faculty and career researchers are doing water-related work as their primary activity.

Goals:
The current research within the Water Resource and Management Center hopes to achieve the measurement, modeling, and documentation of various water quality related projects. The Water Resource and Management Center endeavors to improve the management of saline water, tracking perchlorate through the environmental chain, Salton Sea measurement and management, agricultural water management and conservation, experimental solutions to pollution remediation and waste management, determining contaminant fate and transport in soil-water systems, experimental and theoretical resolutions to biochemical cycling and bioaccumulation, environmental management and policy, modeling and measurement of watershed hydrology, and improving costs related to water desalinization.

Research Agenda:
Consistent with management of water resources in the Inland Empire and abroad, and specifically for the purpose of developing integrated modeling and management of water resources from diverse sources, the Water Resources and Management Center has many active research areas described in the following:

1. Management of saline water: projects include development of improved monitoring devices to characterize salt-affected soils; optimization of different saline water management strategies; simulation of solute and water movement in soil and groundwater; economics of salinity and drainage problems in agricultural production
2. Perchlorate research: projects include research on biological transformation of perchlorate; perchlorate uptake by plants; percholrate movement in soil and groundwater; health effects of perchlorate levels in food and water.
3. Salton Sea research: in situ treatment of influent from rivers; effects of ag water management on sea hydrology; biogeochemistry of Salton sea water; monitoring of Salton sea water in situ.
4. Agricultural water management and conservation: irrigation uniformity research, optimized crop yield with minimum drainage; detection and prevention of groundwater pollution by agricultural drainage.
5. Pollution Remediation and Waste Management: Faculty in this area conduct experimental and theoretical research on treatment of contaminated water, reclamation of salt-affected soils, use of constructed wetlands and other biological systems for remediation of wastewater, leachate, and runoff, bioremediation of organic and inorganic pollutants, genetic engineering of microorgainsms to enhance biodegradation, and research on degradation of refractile pollutants of environmental concern.
6. Biogeochemical Cycling and Bioaccumulation: Faculty in this area conduct experimental and theoretical research on phosphorus cycling in the soil and aquatic environment; nutrient cycling in waste management systems; local, regional, and global impact of waste management practices on aquatic and terrestrial environments; research on the relationships between trace metal chemistry and availability to plants; charactization of chemical forms and reactivity of cadmium in Cd-contaminated soils; selenium biogeochemistry in constructed wetlands; and stable isotope geochemistry
7. Contaminant Fate and Transport in Soil-water Systems: Faculty in this area conduct laboratory and field-scale experimental research on dissolved chemical transport and reactions in soil and groundwater, foundational studies and modeling of pathogen transport and fate in soil and water systems, transport.
8. Environmental Management and Policy: Faculty in this area conduct water-related research on international and environmental sustainability; comparative environmental policy in North America and Asia; analysis of the science and politics of acid rain in North America; management of renewable, common property resources with a specific focus on groundwater; developing irrigation management principles to optimize crop yield, water quality and resource conservation; management of effluent dominated streams in southern California with a constructed wetlands; evaluation of water quality in urban and nonurban lakes in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties to identify sources and cycling of contaminants; and development of cost and energy efficient treatment processes for municipal and industrial wastewaters, and their treatment residuals.
9. Watershed Hydrology: development of watershed-scale models for nutrient loading; monitoring surface and subsurface loading of watershed streams and rivers; development of optimum strategies for compliance with TMDL requirements from EPA.
10. Desalination: development of improved cost-effective methods for desalinizing water of poor quality.