Water Health and Humans Initiative

Thriving communities, economies, and ecosystems start with healthy water

The Water Health and Humans Initiative is a team of cross-disciplinary scientists at Bigelow Laboratory working together to help identify issues impacting coastal waters, support economic growth, and promote healthy water conditions. We do this by applying diverse technologies at the frontiers of science combined with good, old-fashioned collaboration.

We work with, learn from, and provide insight to residents, stakeholders, rightsholders, resource managers, and industries that rely on their watersheds and coastal ecosystems. While we use the Gulf of Maine and inland watersheds as our natural laboratory, our results are scalable across the globe.

Unlike most testing services, our scientists provide results alongside important context, guidance, and next steps — so you’re never on your own. If you’re looking to better understand other parameters you should be tracking, need help crafting an effective strategy for remediation, or simply want help knowing where to start, our Water Health and Humans Initiative team can help!

Whether you’re starting a testing strategy from scratch or spearheading a multi-year project with multiple stakeholders, there are three ways to engage with us:

• Services: Environmental testing and services that can help inform your decisions.
• Consulting: Helping key stakeholders and communities understand what they can do to improve their watersheds.
• Solutions: Novel systems and strategies for mitigation, remediation, and sequestration.

Research and Approach

What we study and how we get involved

Our Research

The Water Health and Humans initiative encompasses three primary areas of research:

• Changing Ecosystems: We provide critical baseline data needed to accurately predict future changes in aquatic ecosystems, as well as experimental investigations to better understand their potential drivers and impacts.
• Clean Waters: We help monitor and reduce contamination of coastal waters (e.g. lakes, rivers and the coastal ocean) with specific interest in harmful algae, pathogenic bacteria, nutrient pollution, microplastic, and invasive organisms that may be harmful to humans or the resources which they depend on.
• Environmental Solutions: We create innovative solutions to environmental change issues including climate change, various forms of pollution, and destructive resource acquisition practices (e.g. mining). This includes carbon sequestration efforts, resource recovery (phosphorus, metals, etc), and alternative and more environmentally friendly products and processes.

Our Approach

Our Clients

The partners we serve

Our clients include a wide range of public and private interests who approach us for a multitude of reasons ranging from regulatory needs to research support.

This includes:

• Indigenous community members
• State, county, and municipal governments
• Public and private institutions and interest groups
• Scientific peers who are looking to take advantage of our specialized equipment, knowledge, and capabilities at our lab

Our Team

The many disciplines behind our unified approach

Contact Us

Let’s get in touch

Whether you know exactly what you’re looking for, or need to talk to someone to get a better understanding of what we can do for you, don’t hesitate to contact us. We are here and ready to help you.