IWRA’s next webinar will focus on Water and COVID-19.  This 90-minute event will take place on Thursday, April 30th from 15:00 to 16:30 Central European Time.  It will provide relevant insights on the impact of COVID-19 on water supply and the different ways that water governance is been challenged by this new global threat today.

While research currently does not indicate drinking water supply to infect people from COVID-19, this virus is impacting the water sector and its governance in various ways.  Presently, municipal drinking water systems have been able to filter and disinfect water to prevent transmission to human beings, yet the presence of the virus has been detected in the water systems.  At the same time, the availability of clean fresh water is a key to simple gestures intended, such as hand-washing, to prevent the spread of the virus. Consequently, there is a real, urgent need to understand the relationship between water and COVID-19, and the imminent impacts this virus has nowadays.

Topics

• SARS-CoV-2 as a water contaminant: what are the characteristics
• Methods in tracing COVID-19: what we can learn from sampling and mapping
• COVID-19 and the essential role of water resource professionals

Distinguished Panellists

• Dan Deere, Water Quality Specialist, Water Futures Australia
• Rosina Girones, Professor, Virology and Biotechnology Department of Genetics, University of Barcelona
• Gertjan Medema, Chair, Water & Health, TU Delft
• Joan Rose, Chair, Water Research, Michigan State University

Moderator: Scott McKenzie, PhD Candidate, University of British Columbia.