ASCE-EWRI Member named a recipient of the Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water

Jery R. Stedinger, Ph.D.

The Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water was initiated on October 21, 2002 to recognize outstanding research and innovation in water issues through five branches of the prize. The Prize Value for each branch is 133,000 U.S. dollars. The winners of the first award of PSIPW are: ASCE/EWRI member and Professor Dr. Jery R. Stedinger of the United States for his surface water topic, “Effective Flood Control Methods”; Professor Dr. Herman Bouwer of the United States for his groundwater topic, “Artificial Ground Water Recharge”; Professor Dr. Hisham T. El Dossouki and Dr. Hisam Elttouney of Egypt for the alternative (non-traditional) water resources topic, “Economical Technologies in Seawater Desalination”; and the winner of the fourth branch of the prize is the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology – Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for the water resources management topic, “Effective New Techniques for Irrigation Water Conservation”.

The following is an excerpt from Jery Stedinger’s acceptance speech:

I would like to take this opportunity to complement His Royal Highness Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz and the Research Center for Environment, Water & Desert for their initiative and leadership in creating this international prize. Those of us here appreciate the value and the power of water. In the arid climate of the Middle East, one expects everyone to have that understanding. But that understanding is not shared by all people in all places. In fact, a danger in many places is that the abundance of water and the success of technology has caused people to assume that clean water in the needed amounts will always be available, and that floods and drought can always be controlled. But it is not true as many people in poor regions of the world know all to well, and it is particularly not true on a planet whose climate will be changing in the coming decades.

Much of the Middle East is an arid land known for its lack of water. And water is essential for life as we know it on earth. For many individuals the need for water is synonymous with our need for safe drinking water. Who cannot visualize a clear, clean, cool glass of water? But water is also essential for agricultural crops as well as the plants and animals that make up the ecosystems found in any landscape. A growing area of scientific investigation addresses the interaction of water resources and ecosystem functions and values. How societies manage ground and surface water, as well as major water resource projects, will increasingly determine the health of natural ecosystems around the world. In my own country we are placing greater emphasis on the role of wetlands as the nurseries for many bird and aquatic species, as well as sinks for pollutants, and as areas that attenuate flood peaks and provide for groundwater recharge.

Traditional water resource issues address water supply for communities, and industrial and ecological uses, as well as effective flood control, and perhaps also navigation, fisheries, the health of aquatic ecosystems, and hydropower operations.

Consider for a moment the concept of flood control. A dream of many civil engineers has been to build large storage projects and dams that can control the floods on mighty rivers. But God is sometimes too great and flood waters will overwhelm the works of men represented by even the largest reservoir. Levees and flood walls can also provide some protection. But they are more brittle than reservoirs and can break when overtopped, thus having provided a false sense of protection to floodplain occupants. Thus some enlightened planners now encourage us to expand our concept for flood control into a framework of flood risk management. 

Flood risk management seeks to assess the risk of flooding so as to avoid unwise and ill-advised use of floodplains, and thus as a result of intentional planning to minimize the vulnerability of people and property when floodplains are developed. We would also prepare to mitigate damages when floods occur, as well as to protect and enhance the ecosystems and other natural resources that riverine environments support.

Management of a nation’s water resources for the benefit of its people, and the wise use and preservation of a nation’s natural resources, is a great calling. I commend again His Royal Highness Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz, and The Prince Sultan Research Center for Environment, Water & Desert, for their leadership in recognizing the global importance of water resources management and the international value of research that allows us to improve our understanding of the hydrologic sciences upon which water resources management depends.

For more information on the Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz International Prize for Water, visit www.psipw.org.