Water Resilience Shines at Biennial Georgia Water Resources Conference
ATHENS, GA – Interdisciplinary knowledge is a critical aspect of solving big environmental problems. That’s why, for the 2025 Georgia Water Resources Conference, we brought everyone together. We do mean everyone: ecologists, hydrologists, engineers, geoscientists, lawyers, anthropologists, consultants and certified fish enthusiasts.
World Water Day 2025: Delivering safe water resources to all
Few resources are as vital as water. But as human activity continues to shape urban rivers, that refreshing dip in the stream, summer kayaking trip, or glass of ice water can be harder to achieve. This is why every year, on March 22, we observe World Water Day: a tradition started by the United Nations in 1993 to highlight the importance of clean, accessible water. Sustainable water management is important not just for the environment, but for the 8.2 billion people that rely on water.
RBC Affiliates Team up to Rescue Species From Extinction
This summer, researchers from the River Basin Center assisted the Tennessee Aquarium Conservation Institute (TNACI) in rescuing one of the last populations of the Laurel Dace, an endangered minnow species, from a drying stream in Tennessee. The rescue, conducted in collaboration with the US Fish and Wildlife Service, has since attracted media attention from multiple […]
Study: People are altering decomposition rates in waterways
A new study co-authored by RBC Associate Director Krista Capps and Affiliate J.P. Schmidt gathered data from 550 rivers across 40 countries and found that human intervention increases the rate of decomposition of plant matter, depriving freshwater life of food at a faster rate than usual, as well as potentially exacerbating climate change.
Imperiled frogs are dying off at alarming rates. Here’s what researchers know.
As the longleaf pine ecosystem becomes smaller and wildlife populations become more isolated, amphibians face many challenges. Among these are disease and habitat fragmentation, which are more relevant now than ever. Since April of this year, frogs that rely on these wetlands have been dying at alarming rates in some regions. The amphibian infection and mortality event appears to be widespread, according to University of Georgia researchers and their collaborators.
RBC affiliates team up to explore federal freshwater policy
All scientific research is collaborative, but this group of River Basin Center affiliates exemplified why interdisciplinary work is so important- with compelling results for freshwater policy. The Odum School of Ecology’s Rosemond Lab teamed up with policy experts to evaluate the efficacy of policies to reduce nutrient pollution.
What it means to be a researcher: Water science and community connections in rural Brazil
Plenty of scientists leave their comfort zone for research, but few relocate to another continent— anthropology graduate student Cydney Seigerman has done it twice. In 2014, they worked as a Fulbright Teaching Assistant in Madrid, Spain. Today, they live in the small city of Quixeramobim in Ceará, Brazil, and have been working there since August […]
Precision Conservation of Imperiled Species
A tiny, rainbow-finned fish lives in the swiftly flowing waters of Georgia’s Etowah River. Known as the Etowah darter (Etheostoma etowahae), it exists only in the Etowah River Basin, mainly inhabiting the mountain streams of North Georgia. The Etowah darter is only one example of the diverse array of freshwater fish, amphibians, crawfish and mussels […]
Climate and Water Research Slam
Save the date: Climate and Water Research Slam – Thursday, May 12 1:00-5:00 The River Basin Center, the Georgia Initiative for Climate and Society, and the Office of Sustainability have joined forces for a climate and water “research slam” — a series of five-minute lightning talks by faculty and students on climate OR water (or both) […]
The Ethics of Water Legislation in Brazil
University of Georgia researchers are shedding light on the differing values of populations in Northeastern Brazil to inform future water management decisions.