Institute for Water Research

Institute for Water Research

Incorporating the Unilever Centre for Environmental Water Quality (UCEWQ)

Grahamstown - South Africa

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THE INSTITUTE

The objectives of the IWR are to contribute to the knowledge of and promote the understanding and wise use of natural water resources in southern Africa.

These objectives are achieved in a number of ways:

• Research into the structure, function and components of natural water systems
• Contract projects aimed at solving specific water-related problems
• Teaching at all levels within Rhodes University
• Dissemination of information by written articles and public lectures
• Service on research and management committees outside Rhodes University
• Capacity building and community education for the water sector (How To Handbooks)
• Practising Adaptive IWRM (Integrated Water Resources Management) in South Africa

You can read our latest Annual Report
You can read our brief IWR Brochure

For information on Grahamstown and South African  water resources and what you can do, please see the RU Environment page.

IWR Plastic Policy Statement

The Institute for Water Research supports calls for an end to the  use of single-use plastic water bottles except in emergency  situations. The environmental and health consequences of the  manufacture, transportation, use and disposal of these bottles are  well documented. The Institute does not supply single-use plastic  water bottles for meetings, alumni events, conferences, etc. and  requires catering suppliers to comply with this. Both staff and  students are encouraged to make use of multi- use water bottles.

Information on single use plastic can be obtained by following the link to the
Makana Plastic Action Group https://www.facebook.com/MakanaPlasticAction/

RUCE Podcast Series: “Into the messy spaces”

ENGAGED RESEARCH

“If you were to ask in the modern university how much engaged research there is, it would be very, very small and we are living in an era when society is pushing back at universities and saying, ‘for us to see that you are valuable we want to see you take the risk of getting in to the messy spaces of real life’.”

Professor Tally Palmer, Director of the Institute of Water Research, won the 2018 VC’s Distinguished Community Engagement Award for her championing of ‘engaged research’ – research that partners with communities and shares knowledge and information, rather than imposes knowledge or extracts information.

Instead of giving a lecture, Tally decided to engage and invited the community to a workshop – Makana: Water Works For Everyone. Hear what happened that night in the City Hall and find out more about a new kind of research for the 21stCentury.

You can listen to the full podcast here: https://iono.fm/e/733310#

Rhodes University Environmental Award 2017

Matthew Weaver, a PhD candidate at the Institute for Water Research was awarded the Rhodes University Environmental Award in the individual category. The award was in recognition for the extensive contributions he has made in participatory research processes to improve democratic water governance processes at a provincial and more markedly at a local governance scale in the Makana Local Municipality.

Matthew has been actively involved in the establishment and function of South Africa's first water and sanitation catchment management forum in which both water services and water resource management agendas are integrated. The forum is leading the way in the Eastern Cape in the development of a Water Plan for Makana, a plan that is inclusive of a wide range of stakeholder inputs. He, and Forum partners, have pioneered a Makana Water awareness campaign, taking Grahamstown Residents on an interactive tour of Grahamstown's water supply system. Building water-related awareness and influencing people's behavior in the Grahamstown community has also seen him conduct interactive presentations at Grahamstown schools.

Matthew was acknowledged not only for his contributions to inclusive and effective water governance practices but also for his academic contribution by publishing his work in peer reviewed journals.

The contribution of these efforts made Matthew a worthy recipient of the RU Environmental Individual reward.