Water Research Foundation

The Water Research Foundation is a member-supported, international, nonprofit organization that sponsors research to enable water utilities, public health agencies, and other professionals to provide safe and affordable drinking water to consumers. It's mission is to advance the science of water to improve the quality of life.

The organization works to achieve the mission in three ways:

• By sponsoring research. The Foundation sponsors an anticipatory and scientifically credible research program that is responsive to the needs of the water supply community.
•  By developing knowledge. The Foundation identifies the practical benefits of research findings and delivers this knowledge to stakeholders throughout the water supply community.
•  By promoting collaboration. The Foundation cultivates partnerships with organizations around the world to leverage funding and share expertise.

The Foundation was established in 1966 by AWWA as the AWWA Research Foundation to provide a centralized, practical research program for the drinking water community. The organization officially changed its name to the Water Research Foundation as of January 2009.

Its research program, which is highly respected as being one of the most scientifically credible and best-coordinated in the world, focuses on four main goal areas:

• High-quality water
• Efficient and customer-responsive organization
• Infrastructure reliability
• Environmental leadership

The Foundation is comprised of, and largely funded by, member organizations that voluntarily subscribe in order to support and benefit from the water-related research that the Foundation sponsors. Close to 900 water utilities worldwide currently subscribe to the Foundation. In addition, more than 50 water-related consulting firms and manufacturing companies are subscribers.

The majority of our subscribers are in the United States. Others are located in Canada, Australia, and Europe. Our collaborating partners are situated all over the globe.

Since its inception, the Foundation has sponsored more than $370 million in research, represented by more than 600 completed research projects. Subscribers provide more than $10 million annually to fund research. This money is supplemented each year by several million dollars allocated by the U.S. government and is leveraged through collaborative partnerships with other research organizations.

In addition to monetary support, the high level of research activity sponsored by the Foundation would not be possible without the efforts of more than 700 subscriber volunteers who serve on committees and councils, providing expertise in a variety of research topic areas.