Center for Water and Health

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The Johns Hopkins Center for Water and Health is a multidisciplinary research and education center, committed to leadership in the field of water and public health. Based at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the Center collaborates with researchers, engineers and scientists across University divisions to advance knowledge on drinking water, water treatment, wastewater and natural water systems for the 21st century, both in the United States and internationally.

Center priorities include:

Developing and evaluating strategies to provide safe drinking water to the 1.2 billion people around the world who lack this basic necessity
Assessing new water and wastewater treatment systems
Developing diagnostic tools to identify and quantify chemicals and emerging microorganisms in water supplies
Preparing students to become leaders in water-related public health issues
Establishing partnerships with environmental and health agencies, as well as business concerns, to provide an applied endpoint to Center research activities

Water and Health News

Lake Lariat Placed Under Fishing Limits
Since its creation, Lake Lariat has come to resemble the rest of the troubled Chesapeake Bay watershed. Like the bay it feeds into, Lake Lariat is plagued by runoff, algae blooms and mercury. Associate Professor Thaddeus Graczyk is proposing to use freshwater clams and bivalves that are filter-feeder organisms in different parts of the lake in order for the clams to recover suspended matter in the water to improve water clarity and also water quality.

Purely, Water
From polymer membranes and in situ testing to simple pumps and clay pots, researchers are working across the technology spectrum to improve water quality.

Almost 40% of Drinking Water Below Standard
Some 40 per cent of public drinking water supplies monitored by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last year were not meeting required standards to protect against cryptosporidium contamination. (Irish Times, November 8, 2007).

More Swimmers, More Pathogens
Recreational waters should be tested for potentially harmful microorganisms under crowded swimming conditions, not when human activity in the water is low, according to Center research.

Reducing Diarrhea in Refugee Camps
Point-of-use water treatments combined with improved water storage dramatically reduce the incidence of diarrhea in emergency conditions, according to a Bloomberg School study.

Non-Native Oysters in the Bay
Center researchers examine the public health impacts of introducing non-native oysters in the Chesapeake Bay to replace the dwindling native oyster population.

Safe Drinking Water Is Essential
A project of the National Academy of Sciences examines the state of the world's water supply, and what can be done to improve it; by looking at sources, treatment and distribution of drinking water

Research Projects

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Click on the projects map to learn about the Center’s current work—from developing simple techniques to identify minute pathogenic viruses that escape conventional means of detection to assessing the human health risk posed by a parasite that infects Chesapeake Bay oysters to testing in-home water treatments for isolated populations who lack safe drinking water.

Collaborators

The Johns Hopkins Center for Water and Health welcomes inquiries from foundations, public agencies and private sector concerns with an interest in forging partnerships to translate Center research on water and public health into innovative, evidence-based applications.