News & Press Releases
-
New research shows flood-related damage to rice crops has surged in recent decades. Wider adoption of flood-resistant varieties could help curb future losses.
-
In many parts of the world, staple crops such as maize and wheat are dependent on rainfall recycled from land rather than oceans, making them more vulnerable to drought. Researchers at Stanford and the University of California San Diego identified a critical threshold in atmospheric moisture sources that could help predict and prevent future crop failures.
-
A beloved researcher, educator, and colleague who sought solutions to hydrate a drought-stricken American West, Luthy was a powerful force for water conservation and cleanup for more than five decades.
-
Stanford researchers have developed a prototype system that can harvest fertilizer from urine. The approach could provide sanitation, income, and energy in resource-limited regions.
-
A new water market model for the Colorado River basin could improve water security and restore ecosystems amid intensifying shortages.
-
As water becomes more scarce and demand rises, Stanford researchers are pioneering a new management approach that can help avert disastrous drought impacts.
-
Scientists discover millions of acres of the Central Valley may be suitable for recharging groundwater
-
A new study from Stanford researchers shows central California’s vast San Joaquin Valley has sunk at a record pace since 2006. Strategic recharging of aquifers could help slow or stop the sinking.
-
In a social media post days after the election, President-elect Donald Trump made clear that California’s water wars are top of his agenda — and he’s firmly on the side of big water users, not fish.
-
The chemical engineering professor and his lab take a creative approach to extracting needed resources such as ammonia from wastewater streams.
-
Sarah Fletcher calls attention to the growing issue of water affordability as her study exposes how many households struggle to pay water bills.
-
Soaring water utility bills force many households to ration water use for essential needs while still falling behind on payments. Stanford scientists offer a new approach to measuring water affordability that could help utilities and government agencies identify and aid those most at risk.
-
Stanford researchers and others are assessing an innovative curriculum and infrastructure maintenance program that could provide a blueprint for more effective school-based sanitation and hygiene interventions.
-
Stanford researchers are developing a technology to analyze wastewater for a range of pathogens. Their approach could lead to more timely and comprehensive public health guidance...
-
Stanford researchers are developing a technology to analyze wastewater for a range of pathogens. Their approach could lead to more timely and comprehensive public health guidance on issues such as drug-resistant pathogens and emerging diseases.
-
Stanford economist Paul Milgrom won a Nobel Prize in part for his role in enabling today’s mobile world. Now he’s tackling a different 21st century challenge: water scarcity.
-
Stanford water and climate experts discuss climate impacts on shared water sources and potential solutions.
-
Stanford water and climate experts discuss climate impacts on shared water sources and potential solutions.
-
As policymakers consider updates to the Bay-Delta Plan, a Stanford analysis outlines challenges and strategies to support future water security in the San Francisco Bay Area in...
-
A new report looks back at the most impactful environment and sustainability research from Stanford scholars in 2023.
-
A new report looks back at the most impactful environment and sustainability research from Stanford scholars in 2023.
-
Researchers found almost no agreement among four widely used poverty measurement approaches.
-
Global water and natural resources expert, Barton "Buzz" Thompson, shares his new book Liquid Asset: How Business and Government Can Partner to Solve the Freshwater Crisis on the...
-
Buzz Thompson discusses his new book on how business government partnerships can help solve the water crisis.
-
WHD affiliate Alexandria Boehm leads a pioneering epidemiology project WastewaterSCAN that has added parainfluenza, rotavirus, adenovirus group F, enterovirus D68, Candida auris,...
-
Chemical engineer Will Tarpeh says it could help alleviate a multitude of global challenges — from environmental sustainability to hunger.
-
Meagan Mauter discusses project aimed at educing energy use at wastewater treatment plants.
-
Scientists have long suspected that the weight of snow and ice in nearby mountains could throw off groundwater assessments tied to elevation changes in California’s Central Valley...
-
William Tarpeh discusses project aimed at turning wastewater into purified drinking water, ammonia and other useful materials.
-
The actor and water advocate joined social entrepreneur Gary White to speak with students about the global water crisis.
-
Buzz Thompson discusses a new agreement between states and the federal government—and challenges still facing the millions of people, creatures, plants, and ecosystems that depend...
-
Look back at how 2022 environment and sustainability research is informing solutions.
-
Take a look back at some of the most impactful stories from 2022 on the environment and sustainability.
-
Stanford engineer discusses water equity in California and the U.S.
-
A recent conference in Colorado discussed a range of issues and solutions characteristic to the West.
-
WHD affiliated researcher discusses wastewater's role as a valuable resource for understanding community health.
-
Jenna Davis, director of Stanford’s Program on Water, Health and Development attends the United Nations 2023 Water Conference.
-
Stanford scholars to join the #WaterAction dialogue in New York City from March 22-24.
-
Former WHD researchers Sara Marks and Tim Julian work at the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, a research institute known as Eawag. Sara is focused on...
-
Stanford and local experts discuss ways to mitigate risk to communities and infrastructure amid dramatic swings between flood and drought.
-
When droughts strike areas that are already water-stressed, water providers are forced to enact measures to curtail water usage or invest in supplies from more expensive sources,...
-
Ph.D. candidate Gracie Hornsby discusses the importance of hygiene services in schools.
-
Stanford University Civil and Environmental Engineering scholar views access to clean water and working sanitation facilities as a “fundamental human right.”
-
Alexandria Boehm discusses how a new form of epidemiology is using the tools of engineering to test wastewater to track COVID-19’s true spread.
-
A diverse group representing competing interests believes it is on the verge of something long thought impossible: an agreement that guides sustainable water use across California's San Joaquin Valley.
-
A Stanford University study simulates 65 years of land subsidence, or sinking, caused by groundwater depletion in California’s San Joaquin Valley. The results suggest significant...
-
Water, Health and Development Director Jenna Davis was named co-editor in chief of PLOS Water, a new open-access journal that brings together multidisciplinary research relevant...
-
STAR’s “train the trainer” initiative empowers a new community of problem solvers to address problems in West Africa and beyond
-
Last fall, WHD Deputy Director Rachel Cardone had an opportunity to interview dozens of delegates at the 26th United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Conference of...
-
The COVID pandemic marks the first time scientists have been able to track a respiratory disease through wastewater analysis. In this Q&A, WHD affiliate Alexandria Boehm...
-
One person’s wastewater is another person’s treasure. A new Stanford University study paves the way to mining sewage for valuable materials used in fertilizers and batteries that...
-
Stanford research looks at drought, wildfires and smoke and the growing risks of climate change in the Golden State.
-
Stanford environmental engineer Christine Pu discusses how infrastructure investments and policies can alleviate poverty and build resilience against climate change
-
Stanford environmental engineer Christine Pu discusses how infrastructure investments and policies can alleviate poverty and build resilience against climate change
-
Researchers are focusing on ways to make water supplies more resilient and sustainable through better infrastructure, treatment and management.
-
An op-ed in Smart Water Magazine from Newsha Ajami outlines three transformation ideas to consider as communities rebound from the pandemic, address recent infrastructure failures...
-
Prolonged and potentially destabilizing water shortages will become commonplace in Jordan by 2100, new research finds, unless the nation implements comprehensive reform, from fixing leaky pipes to desalinating seawater.
-
Prolonged and potentially destabilizing water shortages will become commonplace in Jordan by 2100, new research finds, unless the nation implements comprehensive reform, from fixing leaky pipes to desalinating seawater. Jordan’s water crisis is emblematic of challenges looming around the world as a result of climate change and rapid population growth.
-
Stanford researchers are revealing water’s many - and sometimes surprising - benefits.
-
Stanford researchers are revealing water’s many - and sometimes surprising - benefits.
-
Q&A with Barton “Buzz” Thompson three months after the first market trades of California water futures, a conversation about economic forces and an essential material for life.
-
Urban Monterey and agricultural Salinas have developed a first-of-its-kind water recycling program that takes a sustainable approach to overcoming the challenge of water scarcity.
-
Using water samples and environmental data gathered over 48 hours or less, Stanford engineers develop a new predictive technique for forecasting coastal water quality, a critical step in protecting public health and the ocean economy.
-
Stanford researchers find installing piped water near homes promotes gender equality and improves well-being in rural Zambia.
-
Engineers invent device that requires no electricity or moving parts, lets users collect water as they usually do
-
Engineers invent device that requires no electricity or moving parts, lets users collect water as they usually do
-
A new wastewater testing approach capable of better detecting viral infection patterns in communities could prove a crucial step toward an informed public health response to diseases like COVID-19.
-
A new wastewater testing approach capable of better detecting viral infection patterns in communities could prove a crucial step toward an informed public health response to diseases like COVID-19.
-
What goes down the toilet is worth a lot, according to Stanford researchers exploring the economic, environmental and health uses of human waste.
-
Stanford postdoctoral scholar Laura Kwong rethinks public health interventions for diarrheal disease by looking at life through a child’s eyes.
-
Felicia Marcus’s answers about what has been done and what still needs to be done to untangle the physical, financial and political barriers blocking fair access to clean drinking...
-
Researchers have identified a new type of “landfalling drought” that originates over the ocean before traveling onto land, and which can cause larger, drier conditions than other...
-
Taking down four dams in Oregon and California would be a coup for advocates of dam removal. It could also mark the moment when their movement rediscovers a more realistic goal:...
-
PhD student Anna Kogler outlines her research in Dakar, Senegal converting fecal waste to disinfectants and fertilizers, reducing environmental and health impacts.
-
An NGO and local governments grapple with the long-term implications of meeting emergency water supply needs during COVID-19.
-
An NGO and local governments grapple with the long-term implications of meeting emergency water supply needs during COVID-19.
-
Stanford researchers design a more efficient and affordable desalination process.
-
Newsha Ajami, director of urban water policy, discusses the profound impact of the Clean Water Act.
-
Stanford professor Jenna Davis explains using a counterfactual approach to assess the effect of a district-scale safe water strategy.
-
Stanford professor Jenna Davis explains using a counterfactual approach to assess the effect of a district-scale safe water strategy.
-
PhD candidate James Winter discusses his research on water quality impacts of on-plot piped water systems in Zambia households.
-
Stanford researchers are working to meet global water needs.
All News Releases
Global Freshwater Initiative (GFI) News
Water, Health and Development (WHD) News
-
Here are four ways Stanford faculty are making the most of a valuable resource: wastewater. Hold your nose and jump in.
Water in the West (WitW) News
-
Here are four ways Stanford faculty are making the most of a valuable resource: wastewater. Hold your nose and jump in.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
November 03, 2025
Rainfall tipping point predicts drought risk for crops
Center for Food Security and the Environment -
October 24, 2025
Richard Luthy, environmental engineer and water quality expert, has died
Stanford Report -
-
August 11, 2025
Reintroducing beavers in certain habitats could improve ecosystems and water quality, study finds
CBS News -
-
June 20, 2025
Colorado River ‘water market’ could bring security to farmers, fish and families: Study
The Hill -
-
June 20, 2025
Colorado River water market could help fish and farmers alike
Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability
