The Water Research Foundation (WRF) conducts research related to drinking water quality, treatment and utility infrastructure to help water providers and public health agencies provide safe and affordable drinking water.
Approximately 950 utilities, manufacturers, and consultants subscribe to the foundation’s research, most of which are based in the U.S., but many are international.
The foundation typically sponsors between 25 and 40 research projects a year at an average funding level of $250,000â€"$300,000 per project. These projects are developed through extensive input from volunteer scientists, academics and regulators in the water field, who review them for timeliness and relevance to public needs. Once research is completed, the findings are then shared with the water community.
Since 1966, the foundation has funded more than $500 million worth of research and more than 1,100 studies. It promotes global collaboration and prudent resource management by pooling and leveraging funding for water research.
History
The foundation, originally named the American Water Works Association Research Foundation (AwwaRF), was launched in 1966 with seed money from the American Water Works Association (AWWA) and a few federal grants. In 1983, then-chair Kenneth J. Miller brought together the three major North American water supply organizations â€" AWWA, the National Association of Water Companies, and the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies â€" to support the Foundation's mission.
According to EPA officials interviewed for an oral history of the 1974 Safe Drinking Water Act’s early implementation, the law really provided the impetus for the water industry's development and expansion of its own research program, which evolved from the American Water Works Association and other organizations to become WRF.
It was also in 1983 that the foundation instituted the subscription-based research funding program. By 1987, the Foundation had recruited more than 400 subscribers, including most of the large public and privately owned water utilities in North America, and its annual subscription income had reached $3.5 million.
As revenues rose, the foundation sponsored more comprehensive and innovative research projects, and began partnering with other research organizations, such as the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Electric Power Research Institute, and 34 other U.S. and international research groups.
In 2008, the foundation’s Board of Trustees voted to change AwwaRF’s name to the Water Research Foundation to better describe its mission.
Research topics
The foundation provides a broad array of research and tools to the water supply community. Research focuses on four main areas:
- Water supply and distribution infrastructure
- Utility management and customer relations
- Water quality
- Water resources and environmental sustainability
Strategic initiatives
In 2007, the foundation began a Strategic Research Initiatives Program that focused on a coordinated, long-term approach to critical drinking water issues, including:
- Distribution System Water Quality â€" Launched in 2007, this initiative helps utilities understand how pipes, tanks, and plumbing can affect the quality of water at the tap. It gives utilities tools to keep water safe and affordable as it travels throughout the distribution system.
- Climate Change and Water â€" Begun in 2008, this initiative helps utilities understand their vulnerabilities to global warming (climate change), design adaptation strategies, communicate to customers about the risks associated with climate change, and measure and minimize their carbon footprints.
- Endocrine Disrupting Compounds (EDCs) and Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) â€" Initiated in 2007, this initiative seeks to better understand the occurrence, fate, human health significance, and control of EDCs and PPCPs in drinking water. In August 2007, the foundation published a report on the effectiveness of current technology in removing EDCs and pharmaceuticals from drinking water.
In 2008, the foundation published a report on the toxicological relevance of EDCs and pharmaceuticals in drinking water.
Participating in regulatory discussions
The foundation does not lobby or advocate policy, but it has been invited to help federal and state governments develop research needed to inform regulation.
In 1999, prior to developing regulations to control microbial pathogens and disinfectants/disinfection by-products (D/DBPs) in drinking water, the EPA convened the Stage 2 M-DBP Advisory Committee to develop proposed regulations. The foundation participated in that committee and oversaw the completion of research that helped to underpin M-DBP regulations with sound science.
In 2000, as part of the Safe Drinking Water Act, the EPA proposed lowering the acceptable level of arsenic in drinking water from 50 micrograms per liter to 5 micrograms per liter.
Because of the importance of this rule, the EPA asked the National Academy of Sciences to convene a panel of experts to review the science around arsenic in drinking water. The Foundation participated via its membership in the Arsenic Research Council. Foundation research was instrumental in establishing the revised acceptable level at 10 micrograms per liter.
In 2009, the foundation joined the EPA in a research and information collection partnership to identify specific research and information collection efforts needed by the drinking water community to inform and develop national risk management decisions pertaining to drinking water distribution systems.
In 2010, the foundation and the Water Environment Research Foundation were awarded a four-year EPA grant to administer $3.25 million in research that evaluates new technologies to help utilities cope with aging and failing water and wastewater systems under the EPA’s Aging Water Infrastructure Initiative.
Congressional testimony
The foundation has provided testimony at U.S. Congressional hearings on topics such as the cost and impact of quagga mussels on drinking water, the toxicological relevance of EDCs and PPCPs in drinking water, and how climate change will affect the quality and quantity of U.S. drinking water.
Publications and reports
Since its inception, the foundation has published more than 950 research reports. These reports are primarily available to subscribers, researchers, and regulators.
The foundation also publishes a quarterly journal that summarizes the state of research on key drinking water topics, and a monthly e-newsletter.
The foundation provides science-based information on drinking water quality issues through its Website, media outreach, and press releases.
Governance
WRF is governed by a Board of Trustees composed of leaders from water utilities worldwide. The current Board Chair is Denise Kruger, Senior Vice President, Regulated Utilities at Golden State Water Company. The Foundation’s research is guided by a 21-member Research Advisory Council made up of technical and scientific experts from water utilities, engineering firms, and manufacturers.
WRF’s Public Council on Water Research provides external strategic direction and its members are environmental regulatory agencies, universities, and environmental nonprofit organizations.
Funding and management
The foundation receives approximately 80 percent of its funding from its subscribers, and approximately 20 percent from federal appropriations and grants.
The foundation employs about 40 staff. Its annual expenditures in fiscal year 2009 were $22,407,109. Robert C. Renner has been the executive director of the Foundation since 2005.
Further reading
EPA Alumni Association: Drinking Water, Half Century of Progress â€" a brief history of U.S. efforts to protect drinking water
See also
- American Water Works Association
- Endocrine disruptor
- Safe Drinking Water Act
- US Environmental Protection Agency