For over 60 years, the Water Resources Center (WRC) has connected water resource practitioners and professionals with education, training, and locally-relevant research designed to improve and protect our state’s water resources.
The WRC provides
- Extension Education: WRC Educators connect practitioners with best-available research to inform water management in agricultural, urban, and rural landscapes.
- Programming: From field days to our flag-ship statewide conference, the WRC brings the water community together to co-develop solutions to water challenges.
- Events and Communications: We host nationally-recognized water leaders through seminars and connect the water community with newsletters and events.
- Funding: The Water Resources Center supports applied water research through our Stormwater RFP, WINS funding, and student professional development.
- Policy Analysis and Planning: The WRC has played a lead role in statewide water policy from the Water Sustainability Framework to issue specific reports on the costs of lead pollution and drinking water governance.
- Education and Workforce Development: Through student fellowships, support for the Water Resources Sciences graduate program, and professional development opportunities, we are training the next generation of water leaders.
- Applied Research: WRC staff lead or partner on water research, prioritizing topics with clear application to practice and the potential to advance water science and management in Minnesota.
WRC Focus Areas
The Water Resources Center has dedicated programming and staff oriented around five focal areas:
- Urban Stormwater
- Water and Agricultural Landscapes
- Decentralized Wastewater
- Drinking Water
- Lakes and Aquatic Ecosystems
Inclusive Excellence
Water, having shaped the landscape and biosphere, is also interdependent with culture and ways of knowing. This is reflected in the significance of water in our state -- the name Minnesota heralds from the Dakota language: Mnisota, "clear water", and Mnißota, "cloudy water".
We at the Water Resources Center acknowledge that water is tied to a diversity of relationships, narratives, and knowledges in Minnesota.
We are dedicated to fostering individual growth, inclusive work environments, strong community partnerships, and leveraging university resources to promote more equitable access to clean water.
We champion thoughtful and open communication as all people are valuable, deserving of respect and consideration. We are committed to confronting biases, conscious and unconscious, and enhancing accommodations for the differently abled.
WRC Inclusive Excellence Committee
The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee meets regularly to ensure the value and necessity of diversity and inclusivity are fundamental to the activities of the Water Resources Center. We welcome comments or feedback. Please email [email protected].
Committee Goals
- Support individual staff development and growth related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice issues
- Foster an inclusive, safe environment for our employees to thrive
- Ensure that the WRC’s activities and relationships meet the needs of the diverse communities that we serve