About the River Basin Center

The River Basin Center works to connect freshwater science to management and policy. Although affiliated with the Odum School of Ecology, its members are drawn from units across the University of Georgia and it is known for an interdisciplinary approach. River Basin Center faculty, staff and students work on aquatic management issues around the globe, but the center maintains a particular emphasis on the southeastern US.

Mission of the RBC

The mission of the RBC is to produce and disseminate the knowledge and tools for sustainable management of aquatic resources and ecosystems through applied scientific and policy research, and by training the next generation of managers and researchers.

The goal of the RBC is the sustainable management of aquatic resources and ecosystems.

Click here for the current River Basin Center strategic plan, adopted in July 2014.

Focal Research Areas of the RBC

The River Basin Center works in three broad areas:

(1) Conservation ecology of aquatic ecosystems

(2) Applied research on aquatic system stressors, and development of appropriate management tools;

(3) Policy development and outreach.

Focal Areas of the River Basin Center

For the five-year period running from 2015 to 2019, the RBC has identified eight focal areas:

• Institutional options for managing scarce water resources.
• Instream flow science and policy.
• Water-associated diseases.
• Sustainable coastal land use and wastewater management.
• The effectiveness of current management strategies, such as stream restoration, widespread use of progressive stormwater management, and green infrastructure: what works, what doesn’t, and why?
• Understanding and management of nutrients in freshwater.
• Understanding and management of urban stream ecosystems.
• Increasing land trust capacity to protect water resources.