Preface to “A Creative Critique of U.S. Water Education”

With the world facing increasingly daunting water problems, it seems appropriate to review the educational programs that are producing the water specialists who will have to deal with the attendant range of hydrologic and social issues. There is concern in some circles about the number and qualifications of graduates coming into the water field (graduates that we will call “water specialists”) whether from engineering or closely related fields. The increasing complexity of the water field (scarcity, water quality, ecosystem protection, recreation) and increasing public participation in the policy process appear to make impossible demands on water specialists and on water education. The need for broadly trained water managers raises the age-old questions of how much can be taught in the university or college and how much must be acquired through experience; how much should solid specialized backgrounds be traded off against exposure to other disciplines. The possibilities are limited by the opportunity cost of students’ time and the capacity of instructors. This issue of the Journal brings together a group of experienced water specialists, representing several disciplines and expressing differing concerns and prospects. Some are concerned that engineering is being slighted in favor of science by funding agencies and foundations, and that, as a result, the disciplines related to water, especially engineering, lack the support needed to attract the best students. Others worry that university attempts to respond to the increasing complexities have produced watered-down, excessively broad degree programs at the expense of strength in the basic disciplines. They raise the question whether we are trying to make each student a renaissance problem solver or whether water management is better served by teams of solidly equipped specialists. The various views of employers are expressed in the “Demand Side” section of the journal. The “Supply Side” essays focus on the academic provision of the needed educational programs and existing barriers to accommodating those needs. That accommodation must consist in part in the expeditious incorporation of scientific and technical advances in teaching programs. It must continue to provide a solid foundation in one of the basic disciplines, hopefully including some appreciation of leadership and teamwork skills. In part it should provide various forms of continuing education to suit the needs of practitioners. Achievement of these objectives is complicated by the traditional disciplinary boundaries and socialization within those boundaries, as well as limits on student and faculty time and resistance to new programs. The social sciences have important roles to play in educating water specialists and in water policy formation. All practitioners must operate within the framework of laws and regulations, including those that specify analytical requirements, such as performing cost-benefit analyses. Training in water law and regulations is important but limited, again, by student time and the availability of appropriate faculty because Law School courses typically are not open to other disciplines. Yet it is desirable to sensitize water specialists to the interplay of changing social needs and the law. The social and institutional dimensions of water management extend beyond the law to the decision environment involving widely varying stakeholder groups and bureaucracies. Effecting cooperation in this setting is a needed skill for water managers, including the ability to impress the public with the need to provide for the future in the face of short-run costs. Controlling the human population and its impacts on water systems is still considered a radical approach to solving water problems. The implied need for ready communication among academic disciplines and with practitioners emphasizes the importance of professional newsletters and journals. In addition to the traditional specialist journals, there is a need for publications communicating the linkage between theoretical contributions and the details of actual practice. On-line journals and newsletters are increasingly important in transmitting information about the rapidly changing water management environment, reinforced by the uncertainty surrounding the impacts of climate change. This issue closes with descriptions of three recent, innovative degree programs that warrant investigation by water educators. Charles W. (Chuck) Howe is Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Colorado-Boulder and a member of the Environment and Society Research Program that he directed from 1986 through 1997. He started water research at Purdue University and served as Director of the Water Resources Program at Resources for the Future, Washington, D.C. from 1965 to 1970. He was co-editor of Water Resources Research from 1967 through 1974 and is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union and of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists. UCOWR recognized him as “A Friend of UCOWR” and awarded him the Warren A. Hall Medal. Upper left: Professor Abel Wolman, Johns Hopkins University, advisor to the Roosevelt administration, initiator of chlorination of drinking water, advisor to Third World Countries, honored by the Abel Wolman annual lecture at the National Academy. Upper center: Arthur Maass, Gilbert White and Robert Pietrowsky at the opening of the Maas/White Archives at the Institute of Water Resources. Arthur Maas was a distinguished professor of political science and water resources at Harvard and a member of the famous Harvard Water Project of the 1960's. Gilbert White (also pictured below) was Professor of Geography at the Universities of Chicago and Colorado and renowned student of the role of water in human betterment. Robert Pietrowsky was Director of the Institute for Water Resources. Upper right: Jack Hirshleifer was a distinguished professor of micro-economics at UCLA and a pioneer in the economics of water projects and water demand. He was co-author with James De Haven and Jerome Milliman of the classic Water Supply: Economics, Technology and Policy, 1960. Center left: Robert Dorfman was professor of economics at Harvard and a member of the Harvard Water Project. He pioneered the application of linear programming to water resource management and the theory of the firm. Center right: Harold A Thomas, Jr. was professor of engineering and applied math at Harvard, a member of the Harvard Water Project and pioneer in the mathematical synthesis of stream flows. Bottom left: Gordon (Reds) Wolman, Professor of Geography and International Affairs at John Hopkins University. Bottom center: Professor Maurice Albertson, Professor of Civil Engineering at Colorado State University and international graduate students. He initiated training programs in Civil Engineering for graduate students from developing countries under U.S. AID sponsorship and is directly responsible for the training of a large number of today's senior water managers, especially in Latin America. Bottom right: John V. Krutilla spent his career at Resources for the Future, Inc. in Washington. He pioneered in applying economics to the design and evaluation of water projects. He co-authored Multiple Purpose River Development with Otto Eckstein of Harvard and wrote the definitive analysis The Columbia River Treaty: The Economics of an International River Basin Development, 1967.