The University of Manitoba campuses are located on original lands of Anishinaabeg, Ininew, Anisininew, Dakota and Dene peoples, and on the National Homeland of the Red River Métis. More
University of Manitoba
Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada, R3T 2N2
The University of Manitoba (UM) is a leader in promoting equitable access to clean drinking water, enhancing wastewater treatment and ensuring sustainable management of water resources through Indigenous Ways of Knowing.
The University of Manitoba (UM) is a leader in promoting equitable access to clean drinking water, enhancing wastewater treatment and ensuring sustainable management of water resources through Indigenous Ways of Knowing.
As the United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) Hub for Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6: Clean Water and Sanitation, we are recognized leaders in this field and, as such, have sent delegations to the United Nations 2023 Water Conference in New York. Our rigorous and collaborative research programs are changing how we view and value water, leading our community and those beyond our campus to increase water use efficiency and management, and safeguarding water resources for future generations.
The University of Manitoba provides over 50 courses related to SDG6
Taking into account the significant growth of the Fort Garry campus, water consumption at the University of Manitoba has decreased by 71% since 1990/91. That is the equivalent to 8.1 billion litres of water saved.
Over 110 current research projects specific to SDG6
Effective water resource management includes planning, developing, distributing and managing the optimum use of water resources for all UM campuses.
During extreme rain events, two stormwater retention ponds on the Fort Garry Campus slow the flow of stormwater into adjacent Red River. UM diverts clean storm runoff to prevent the sanitary sewer system from becoming overloaded during a storm event.
All sanitary sewage from our campus flows to a nearby City of Winnipeg Water & Waste Treatment Plant for comprehensive water treatment and we have a comprehensive spill response program to ensure our waterways remain uncontaminated.
UM believes that access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene is a human right because clean water is essential to health, poverty reduction, food security, peace, and biodiversity.
For years we have been adopting a more integrated and holistic approach to water management by working with and learning from Indigenous Knowledge Keepers and communities who have been historically excluded from many important decisions on water policy. UM has been taking action locally and around the world to bolster sector-wide investment and capacity-building, advance innovation and evidence-based action, and promote collaboration among stakeholders.
Adjunct professor of chemistry Myrle Ballard believes Western science can benefit from learning Indigenous pedagogies which teach a more holistic approach to aquatics management. One of her recent research project, funded by the University of Manitoba’s Indigenous Research Program grant, partners Anishinaabe fishers and knowledge holders with Western scientists in an effort to bridge the two methodologies and save Lake Winnipeg.
Learn more about Dr. Myrle Ballard's work
Nicole Wilson, Canada Research Chair in Arctic Environmental Change and Governance, has long community partnerships with Yukon First Nations including Carcross/Tagish First Nation to conduct research about the ways Modern Land Claim agreements shape Yukon First Nations’ roles in water governance. She works to develop new partnerships to look at questions related to water governance and other forms of environmental governance as well as the effects of and responses to climate change in the Arctic and sub-Arctic.
Explore more about Nicole Wilson
UM researchers cooperate with community members to understand, plan and protect the watershed from climate change related disasters. UM also partners with the International Institute for Sustainable Development to train students in water management in the Experimental Lakes Area, which is a world-renowned freshwater research facility consisting of 58 small lakes and their watersheds that offer a unique ability to understand and develop solutions to threats posed by climate change, agricultural runoff, and oil spills.
More on the Manitoba Great Lakes Program
Feiyue Wang, Canada Research Chair in Arctic Environmental Chemistry, dedicates himself to understanding how we can mitigate the risk of contaminants in our waters and others like Ayush Kumar, a professor of microbiology, studied the microbiological content of water among First Nations communities in Manitoba, and petitioned the government to improve the situation.
The Faculty of Architecture hosts symposia like Water+ that addresses the idea of working with water instead of against it – by design. The Faculty examines the relationships between human and natural systems with specific reference to water as an activating agent. They bringing academics, artists, designers, engineers, environmental scientists, economists, geographers, planners, poets, social scientists, and other allied disciplines together to address water and the built environment.
UM co-hosted a conference that saw nearly 300 researchers, farmers, policy makers, and industry members focus on topics that explored Indigenous perspectives in reshaping our food systems, as well as water management and using precision technologies to ensure agricultural sustainability. UM is also home to the Canada Research Chair in Water Resource Management for Sustainable Agriculture to help protect water resources on farms as the climate changes.
Climate change is making water availability less predictable in many places. UM is leading efforts to better understand droughts and flooding through the work of the Watershed Systems Research Program at UM, which gathers fundamental data on hydrology in the prairies, and Paul Bollock and others who collaborate in the Drought Research Initiative.
Water is a commodity we often take for granted. Yet history professor Adele Perry’s book, Aqueduct: Colonialism, Resources and the History We Remember, sheds light on the issue and the historical injustices surrounding water usage and Indigenous rights.
UM works hard to educate and work alongside communities to help us protect our water and build resiliency into our water systems.
UM hosts a public event titled "Water and Climate Justice: Advancing Intersectional Approaches," at the Canadian Human Rights Museum. We also hosted a conference on water rights and our collaborative efforts to tackle First Nation drinking water and wastewater issues from many angles and run a speaker series on water sustainability issues including drinking water and sanitation, water governance, and international climate issues.
UM runs outreach programs with schools to inspire the next generation to continue this work and our Watershed Systems Research Program not only does research but also recruits volunteers to help protect waterways, such as doing shore clean ups along the Red River.
The innovative Land and Water program is an Indigenous land-based education program that brings together Indigenous students and youth, community members, knowledge carriers, and elders to participate in immersive urban land-based experiences and explore Indigenous relationships with our waterways.
A delegation of UM professors addressed the United Nations 2023 Water Conference in New York, bringing together Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars and partners to help address pressing global water-related challenges. UM delegates had the unique opportunity to help set the agenda for global water governance and sustainability through Indigenous knowledge, self-determination, and relationships with water. This builds off the work UM does in partnering with First Nations communities to help improve drinking water, like through the innovative Create H2O program, which is designed to address research science and training gaps that are preventing effective, culturally appropriate investments in water and sanitation security in First Nation communities.
The UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) unite people in action and aim to end extreme poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and tackle climate change. UM is addressing these themes by creating opportunities for our students, staff, faculty and community to participate in actions to help achieve these goals.