UC Berkeley Water Research and Opportunities Portal

Michael Manga focuses on a variety of topics across the Earth and Planetary Department including hydrogeology and human-induced earthquakes, groundwater, rivers, geysers, woody-debris flow in water systems, and extra-planetary sources of water.

His projects include:
1) An extra-planetary project that studies planets made of ice that have oceans under them and the moons of Saturn and Jupiter, as well as past water-systems and current water on Mars.
2) A project on studying the effects of wood on water systems, looking into the effect woody debris has on the flow of systems and how it alters river channels. The Pacific North-West is a main study area for the research, while it is in the early stages of research in California.
3) An ongoing project to study the effects of earthquakes on water systems. His study on human-induced earthquakes and fracking includes looking at the amount of water used to achieve the desired products, as well as how the wastewater is disposed of. Additionally, he has been monitoring earthquake activity within the East Bay where he measures the fluctuations and increases on the flow of water at the Alum Rock springs.

Isha Ray focuses on water, sanitation and development; water and gender; technology and development; and common property resources. Her research projects focus on access to water and sanitation for the rural and urban poor, and on the role of technology in improving livelihoods.

Her projects include:
1) Governance of Wastewater Reuse systems in India with an emphasis on the institutional aspects of water reuse in rural regions.
2) Central Valley of California projects focuses around assessing the affordability of drinking water in rural communities and best methods for supplying drinking water. Additionally, a separate project is conducting field-trial arsenic mitigation methods and systems implementation in historically marginalized, rural communities.
3) A Joint ongoing project in collaboration with China CDC and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University conducting microbial bacteriology studies on rural drinking water along with behavioral interventions of safe drinking water methods. Emphasis is on evaluating key vulnerabilities of water systems and expanding safe drinking water methods from rural to institution (hospitals, schools) settings.

Alison Post focuses on a variety of water related research agendas that includes analyzing water distribution in Latin America, urban planning, and water politics in India. Post’s current research is looking at the ways in which water resources as a political entity and how it intersects with urban planning at the human level.

Her projects include:
1) Water intermittency in India with Professor Isha Ray. A field experiment into the effects of text message alerts to individual community members about when they can expect water services. Related research into the role of street-level bureaucrats in operating/prioritizing water service and their relationship to the communities they serve.
2) Implications of how infrastructure and utility agencies manage competing risks (including earthquakes, wildfires, cyberattacks) and how they prioritize their address of risk.
3) Political implications for rapid urbanization in the developing world; particularly how policy-making operates in small- and medium-size cities where the bulk of population growth is occurring in the developing world. Looking into why small towns and medium-sized cities are spending much more money on public health and education in comparison to water security and distribution.

Jack Colford focuses on waterborne infectious diseases in domestic, developing country and recreational water settings. He specializes in large-field randomized control trials at the individual and community level.

His projects include:
1) WASH (Water, Sanitation, and Hand Washing) Intervention analysis. Interventions have been carried out in rural Kenya and Bangladesh which include the implementation of chlorine based water treatments, hand washing stations with community training, double pit latrines, and Enov’Nutributter supplements.
2) Recreational water studies on gastrointestinal disease transmission and infection among users including swimmers, surfers, and beach use.

Opportunity for programmatic use of the reserve. Available for research use with faculty sponsorship. Central idea to facilitate research.
Considering areas where they can encourage grants program to fund student research availability.
Stewardship opportunities available-SAs live and work on the reserve to maintain