DURHAM, N.C. – The Internet of Water project at Duke University’s Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions has been awarded $2 million by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

Martin Doyle
Martin Doyle

Internet of Water seeks to change water management by improving access to more water data to better inform decision-making.

“This funding is a game-changing opportunity to collectively address challenges in our water data infrastructure in order to ensure decision-makers have all the publicly-available data needed to make real-time decisions and collectively address regional water challenges,” says Martin Doyle, advisory chairman of Internet of Water.

Doyle serves as professor of river systems science and policy at the Nicholas School of the Environment and director of the water policy program at the Nicholas Institute.

The concept for Internet of Water grew out of a joint 2017 dialogue series with the Aspen Institute on sharing and integrating water data for sustainability, which convened experts from different water sectors around how to improve the country’s water data infrastructure.

Doyle and Nicholas Institute Senior Policy Associate Lauren Patterson have since helped implement recommendations of a subsequent Internet of Water report.

The Moore Foundation funding will also support the Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science and the Western States Water Council’s (WSWC) Water and Data Exchange Program as they work with the Internet of Water to highlight the value of water data.

“The Moore Foundation funding will greatly increase our program's momentum and scope, expanding the availability and interoperability of new datasets from our 18 western state partners and others,” says Sara Larsen, senior program manager at WSWC. “Our cooperative efforts will help us identify and prioritize high value data sets that support innovative applications and better decision-making.”

The Internet of Water has also received funding from the Cynthia & George Mitchell Foundation, the Kingfisher Foundation, the Pisces Foundation, the S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, the Walton Family Foundation and the Water Funder Initiative.

###