PWRC Annual Report 2024-2025
The Pacific Water Research Centre (PWRC) continues to expand its influence through impactful research, international collaborations, and community-focused projects aimed at addressing water security and sustainability.
Of particular note are three new activities initiated during the reporting period.
First, an international collaboration was initiated in July 2024 together with the Government of the Republic of Korea (South Korea). PWRC is working with the South Korean Ministry of Environment on a comparative study of water management systems in South Korea and Canada. There is considerable interest in comparing how technological solutions are deployed to monitor and cope with water scarcity in the two countries. The project aims to generate publishable research and policy recommendations. A resident scholar is based at PWRC for the duration of the study and is funded under Korea’s Overseas Training Program.
Second, the SFU Sustainable Energy Engineering students have initiated a hydroponic garden project in collaboration with PWRC. This hydroponic system will be built and maintained by undergraduate students working within the PWRC laboratory facilities within the Surrey campus. The system, based on Nutrient Film Technique, promotes sustainable urban agriculture and hands-on learning for SFU’s Surrey-based students. Completion of the hydroponic garden is expected by late 2025 with PWRC’s financial and technical support. This activity goes to the core of PWRC’s mandate to engage with SFU students, particularly those based in the Faculty of Applied Sciences.
Third, in partnership with Metro Vancouver and Foresight Canada, PWRC is launching a two-year study to assess municipal water loss using advanced AI and leak detection technologies. Starting Fall 2025, pilot studies in several cities will inform long-term strategies to reduce non-revenue water. It is anticipated that this project will help enhance regional water resilience.
In another ongoing exciting initiative PWRC and the Katzie First Nation are collaborating to develop a multi-purpose facility at Grant Narrows (south end of Pitt Lake). The facility will serve as a public space to showcase Katzie art and culture, and as a research hub for climate change monitoring and culturally informed knowledge sharing. It will connect with PWRC’s lab at SFU Surrey, offering opportunities for interdisciplinary research and hands-on learning for SFU students.
PWRC also continued its collaboration with Indigenous communities under the aegis of the N-EAT Project. Since 2018, PWRC’s N-EAT initiative has worked with Indigenous communities (Kitasoo/Xai’xais, Old Massett, Sto:lo Nations) to promote food and water sovereignty. With SSHRC and CEC funding extended through March 2025, the project will also be featured in an international CEC documentary premiering in Fall 2025.
PWRC plays a leading role in the Asia-Pacific Mayors Academy, co-organizing its 2025 training module on climate resilience. It also contributed to the June 2025 Sustainable Cities and Landscapes Conference, hosted on the SFU Burnaby campus and is supporting a forthcoming Springer volume titled Urban Water Equity and Justice across the Pacific Rim (2026).
Read the full report here.