Key Facts
News
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Institutional Stewardship Initiatives
Energy and Water Conservation Policy
The university has an Energy and Water Conservation Policy which helps ensure the university operates in a sustainable manner by using energy and water efficiently, wisely, and responsibly. This policy contributes to meeting the university’s commitments and goals with respect to energy and water-related costs as well as greenhouse gas emissions associated with energy use. It supports and enhances the university’s commitment to environmental sustainability and encourages change in individual behaviors, actions, and campus processes. The policy supports management of ongoing energy and water related costs and reduces university risk to future carbon compliance regulations and payments. Energy and water management provides leadership on this global issue.
Plumbing Retrofits
A plumbing retrofit program is underway that seeks to replace outdated, high volume water fixtures with low flow fixtures. Retrofits in four campus buildings were started in the 2019/20 fiscal year and completed at the end of 2022. A 3rd phase of the urinal replacement project began in 2022 to expand to 3 more buildings. These phase 3 replacements will save an additional 34 million L of water annually. For newly constructed buildings, water conservation standards are set on a project by project basis based on the Green Building Certification that is targeted. In these situations, USask would adhere to the criteria outlined by LEED or Green Globes.
Water-Conscious Planting
USask undertakes water-conscious planting practices in a variety of ways. In addition to selecting hardy native species for planting, USask Grounds Management has also been increasing tree and shrub planting across campus to reduce irrigated lawn space. They are also creating areas that include edible landscapes which host haskaps and sour cherries, fruit bearing shrubs bred and cultivated for our region at the College of Agriculture and Bioresources.
Partnerships with City of Saskatoon
USask has a long-running partnership with the City of Saskatoon regarding water use. The City's water conservation strategy receives consultations from USask subject matter experts, includes a priority to reduce emissions related to water treatment, and speaks to new initiatives to explore use of reused/recycled water - aka: "grey water". A feasibility study and pilot project are approved and underway, to explore recycling water used in recreation (e.g. spray pads and pools) in irrigation, instead of using potable/drinking water. These initiatives include consultation and participation from University subject matter experts. The University also uses rainwater capture processes to collect water for use in campus flowers beds.
Public Water Bottle Filling Stations
In an effort to make USask more sustainable the university provides free water bottle filling stations in high traffic areas to promote the usage of reusable water bottles and decrease the purchasing of non-reusable plastic water bottles.
Water Education at USask
USask's School of Environment and Sustainability offers a Master of Water Security degree. It also offers 3 water-related graduate certificates in Sustainable Water Management, Water Resources, and Water Science. These programs train students to enable them to investigate water security issues of regional, national, and international significance.
In addition to our water-related academic programming, USask also champions water education for our broader community. One example of this is “What About Water?”, a collaboration between USask’s Global Institute for Water Security (GIWS) and Let’s Talk About Water. “What About Water” is an outreach initiative that aims to educate and empower people to bring about solutions and actions for the world’s water realities. Producing films, digital education resources, and a free podcast, the “What About Water?” team includes USask staff. USask Professor Emeritus, Dr. Jay Famiglietti, hosts the podcast. Seasons 3 & 4 aired in 2022/2023.
Research Institutes, Centres, & Projects
Global Institute for Water Security
The Global Institute for Water Security at the University of Saskatchewan is the top water resources research institute in Canada and one of the most advanced hydrology research centres in the world. GIWS is dedicated to:
- Helping protect our precious freshwater resources needed for the world's growing demand for sustainable food production.
- Mitigating the risk of water-related disasters such as floods, droughts, and fires.
- Predicting and forecasting extremes of global change through the use of advanced remote sensing and modelling techniques.
- Co-creating research and braiding Traditional Knowledge with modern science to empower Indigenous communities in protecting healthy waters, people, and ecosystems.
What About Water?
“What About Water?”, a collaboration between USask’s Global Institute for Water Security (GIWS) and Let’s Talk About Water, is an outreach initiative that aims to educate and empower people to bring about solutions and actions for the world’s water realities. Producing films, digital education resources, and a free podcast, the “What About Water?” team includes USask staff. USask Professor Emeritus, Dr. Jay Famiglietti, hosts the podcast. Seasons 3 & 4 aired in 2022/2023. USask's School of Environment and Sustainability offers a Master of Water Security degree. It also offers 3 water-related graduate certificates in Sustainable Water Management, Water Resources, and Water Science. These programs train students to enable them to investigate water security issues of regional, national, and international significance.
Prairie Water Project
The Prairie Water (PW) project based at USask's Global Institute for Water Security (GIWS) prioritizes scientific research on water to address water security in the Canadian Prairies. Working with 30+ partners from federal and provincial governments, Indigenous communities and organizations, industry groups, agriculture, watershed groups, and environmental non-governmental organizations, the goal is to direct research to help inform water-related management and decision-making to enhance the resilience of Prairie communities in a changing world. One of 3 main teams focuses on practices and governance that contribute to community water conservation. The PW Annual Partners Meeting, held in person on 2 February 2023, brought together researchers and partners engaged on the project’s progress thus far and discussed water in the prairies – a report from this event is publicly available.
Research Impact
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Sample Courses
Aquifer characterization; Mapping flow in regional systems; Groundwater in the hydrologic cycle; Principles of hydraulic testing; Groundwater as a resource; Stress, strain and pore fluids; Heat transport in groundwater systems.
Students examine critical water-health issues through a distinctly interdisciplinary lens. Water and wellbeing connections from individual to chromosphere scales are explored via case study, epidemiological modelling, GIS, media fact-checking and assignments. Students deepen knowledge about roles of water in preserving social, cultural, economic and political resilience to health.
This course will provide an understanding of the processes that control the movement of chemical contaminants in the environment. Local and global methods for chemical regulation/management will be addressed in the context of society and economics. The use of modelling to predict the environmental fate/effects of contaminants will be presented.
The course focuses on the application of the theory and methods of Indigenous planning and planning with Indigenous communities in reserve, rural, urban, northern, and international contexts. Emphasis is on project-based and experiential learning through group and individual projects, guest lectures and a field trip.
For a full listing of related courses, please visit the Office of Sustainability's sustainablity course inventory.