Working Waters
We rely on rivers for transportation, drinking water, irrigation, food supply, recreation, tourism and waste management. Some of these benefits have a dollar value placed upon them worth billions and some provide significant commercial benefits. Because human communities and economies are so often tied to rivers, most people are surprised to learn that the scientific study of large rivers has lagged far behind the study of other aquatic ecosystems. The National Great Rivers Research and Education Center, through the Confluence Field Station, will fill an important role in research devoted solely to the study of great rivers.
NGRREC and partner research projects focus on the ecology and management of large rivers, including aquatic, floodplain, and terrestrial habitats, watershed processes, and the human communities that depend on river-floodplain ecosystems. Our researchers and partners have extensive expertise in monitoring critical natural resources of large rivers, information which is essential for the sustainable management of these ecosystems.
- Background
- Need and Challenge
- Research and Education
- Long-Term Viability of NGRREC
- Expanded Research Agenda