WWD 2001 Event
Canada, Windsor international researchers mark WWD
Thursday, March 22 is World Water Day, a day acclaimed by the United Nations to raise awareness of the importance of water conservation.
A number of researchers with the Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, especially those in Earth Sciences, are marking the day. These include Earth Sciences Professor Frank Simpson. His work in India with rural people and the Pune NGO, BAIF Development Research Foundation, helped create of the system of three reservoirs with masonry check dams, pictured here. The system catches water from monsoon runoff and seepages in the valley sides. It has been in place since 1994 near Manhere village, Maharashtra State. Dr. Simpson's work in India was supported by the International Development Research Centre, Ottawa..
“I think that the University of Windsor has a lot to feel good about on World Water Day,” says Dr. Simpson. “We have a sense of purpose and the sure knowledge that we have done a lot of good in different parts of the world where water presented serious problems to people, especially to the poor.”
All of the Earth Sciences work in international development is related to the control of water movement. The project in India has provided a sustained supply of water five years after the end of the project. And the research results from the project are used by BAIF and the University in a series of annual workshops to train the NGO's program personnel. The BAIF personnel have a total constituency of more than a million families, among the rural poor of seven states. The University of Windsor has also worked in water conservation and development projects in Nigeria and Ukraine.
World Water Day was promoted by means of an article in the University of Windsor's on-line newsletter, DailyNews. The article came out two days before the event: Campus researchers marking World Water Day. The article draws attention to recent University of Windsor projects with a focus on water supply.
Contact
Frank Simpson, P.Eng., P.Geo.
Professor of Geology
E-mail: franks@uwindsor.ca