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The Water Resources Research Center supports research,
education, and outreach on water resources issues of state, regional,
and national importance as part of the national
system of institutes authorized under the Water Resources Research
Act of 1964. Established in 1965, the Center has been a unit of The
Environmental Institute since 1984.
The Center supports faculty research and training of
graduate students and is a national leader in the use of volunteers
for high quality water quality monitoring of surface waters. The primary
objectives of the Center are to:
- Conduct research responsive to state and regional needs,
- Support the education and training of students as water
resources professionals, and
- Disseminate research results to appropriate users.
The Center encourages an interdisciplinary approach
to resolving state and regional water problems and has involved the
University system and many other Massachusetts colleges and universities
in Center research.
The Center operates a statewide competitive
grants program open to all academic institutions in Massachusetts.
Since 1990, the Center has coordinated the Massachusetts
Water Watch Partnership, a University effort to provide technical
assistance to volunteer lake and river associations in protecting
and remediating water quality problems. The program has become a key
element in the overall state effort to improve surface water quality,
prevent invasion of alien aquatic species, and develop novel approaches
to partnering with volunteers, communities, and businesses.
The Center cooperates with the UMass Extension Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation program to provide infrastructure support of the Mass. Water Watch Partnership Program, and to coordinate crossings surveys in order to document barriers to stream continuity in the region.
From 1983 to 1993 and again from 2000 to the present, the Center
has conducted the internationally recognized Acid
Rain Monitoring Project. The initial objective was to provide
a complete evaluation of the impact of acid deposition on the surface
waters of Massachusetts. Most recently, researchers have been evaluating
the impact of the 1990 Clean Air Amendments on surface waters. The
program is unique in combining the efforts of hundreds of citizen
volunteers and laboratories with University coordination to produce
high quality data. The program has won many awards including the National
Environmental Achievement Award, the Friends of the United Nations
Environmental Program, and the Gulf Oil Conservation Award.
Another project the Center leads is the Massachusetts Stormwater Technology Evaluation Project, to manage and update web-based clearinghouse for proprietary and traditional technology to treat stormwater, adding Low Impact Development options to the database in 2007-2009.
The Watershed Community Project is a recent interest of the Center, exploring the convergence of information technology, science and community. The Center works in partnership with other University departments, government and non-government agencies to research and develop computer applications and related scientific and social networks that advance spatial literacy, formal and informal science education, and collaborative community efforts to document, interpret and preserve natural and cultural resources.
The Center has developed several key guidance documents
for state management of water resources. These include a for state and federally funded projects, and a major revision
to the Generic Environmental Impact Review governing all lake management
activities in the state. The latter document evaluates the use of
lake management techniques, reviews the science, and simplifies the
process of local and state review of applications for lake management
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