1. China

The principal Chinese water research agency is the Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research (IWHR), a private agency located in Beijing, China. IWHR was established in 1994 as the successor of several other water agencies dating back to the first Chinese hydraulic laboratory, established in Tianjin in 1933. Over the years since its original inception, IWHR has become the largest and most comprehensive research institution in water resources and hydroelectric power in China. At present, IWHR has a staff of more than 1,300 employees, housed in 12 research departments and 32 laboratories. The total land area of the institute is 480,000 m².

IWHR covers a wide variety of subjects in the water resources and related fields, including the management of large river basins, environmental protection, flood control and drought relief, river regulation and interbasin water transfer, sedimentation in rivers and reservoirs, structural optimization, earthquake-resistant analysis, treatment of complex foundations, hydroelectric equipment testing, power-plant automation, safety monitoring, construction materials design and control, new technology for concrete-faced rock-fill dam and roller-compacted concrete dams, hydro-turbine rehabilitation, and cooling water studies.

IWHR operates the following twelve departments: (1) Hydraulics, (2) Water resources, (3) Water hazards, (4) Environmental hydrology, (5) Rangeland hydrology, (6) Sedimentation research, (7) Irrigation and drainage research, (8) Earthquake engineering research, (9) Remote sensing applications research, (10) Geotechnical engineering, (11) Structures and materials, and (12) Water resources history.

IWHR provides technical support in diverse areas, including flood management, rational water resources allocation, water-saving practices, protection of aquatic ecology, drinking-water safety, and environmentally conscious hydropower projects. Over the years, IWHR has developed a variety of technologies and products, many of which have been marketed nationally and internationally. Currently, IWHR employs 120 senior engineers at the professorial level and 329 other senior engineers. Young engineers below the age of 45 constitute 70% of the professional staff.

2. Japan

The principal Japanese water agency is the Japan Water Agency (JWA), an incorporated administrative agency, a public legal entity that acts independently of the state and manages operations such as research and inspections. JWA was established in 2003 in Saitama, Japan, as an successor to the Water Resources Development Public Corporation (WARDEC). The mission of JWA is the provision of a stable supply of water to urban, industrial, and agricultural regions of the country. The institution fulfills its mission by the construction and operation of hydraulic facilities, following Japan's Basic Plan for Water Resources Development. At present [July 2011], JWA has a staff of 1,507 employees, housed in 11 departments, including dam, land, canal, and environmental departments.

JWA has jurisdiction on each of the seven river systems (Tone, Ara, Toyo, Kiso, Yodo, Yoshino and Chikugo River Systems) earmarked by the government for water resources development. JWA covers a broad range of activities, including securing water for urban, industrial and agricultural use, controlling floods and maintaining and improving the normal functions of rivers. JWA is responsible for the studies, surveys, testing and research required to accomplish its objectives.

3. South Korea

The principal South Korean water agency is the Korea Water Resources Corporation (K water), a public agency established in 1967 in Daejeon, South Korea. Since its inception, K water has been implementing South Korea's water resources management policies in relation to dam construction and operation and regional water supply systems.

With basin management, integration, specialization and automation, K water is making every effort to provide a safe water supply to its stakeholders. In addition, K water is engaged in developing core technologies and utilizing the best available engineering talent to effectively contribute to the water industry.

4. Iran

The principal water agency in Iran is the Water Research Institute, a public agency within the Ministry of Energy, located in Tehran, Iran.

The agency has two departments: (1) Water resources, and (2) Hydraulics, hydrology, and environmental engineering. The department of water resources has three sections: (1) Water quality and water resources management, (2) Meteorological and hydrometric networking, and (3) Hydrologic processes and forecasting. The department of hydraulics, hydrology and hydro-environmental engineering has three sections: (1) Hydro-environmental, (2) Hydraulics structures, and (3) River and Coastal. In addition, the agency has four national research centres: (1) Water and wastewater, (2) Karstic resources, (3) Cloud seeding research, and (4) Caspian Sea.

5. Egypt

The principal water agency in Egypt is the National Water Research Center (NWRC), a public agency within the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, located in Cairo, Egypt. Originally established in 1975 as Water Research Center and renamed in 1994 as National Water Research Center, NWRC is the premiere institution for water research in Egypt. NWRC performs applied research with the following objectives: (1) to maintain continuity, credibility and sustainability in research; (2) to adopt appropriate technologies to improve research; and (3) to strengthen the link between their research results and the work of action agencies.

The objectives of NWRC are: (1) to propose long-term policies for managing the water resources of Egypt; (2) to solve the technical problems associated with irrigation, drainage and water resources; (3) to carry out research in connection with the extension of agricultural lands; and (4) to utilize the water resources of Egypt in the most efficient and cost-effective way.

NRWC has twelve research institutes: (1) Water Management Research Institute; (2) Drainage Research Institute; (3) Water Resources Research Institute; (4) Nile Research Institute; (5) Hydraulics Research Institute; (6) Channel Maintenance Research Institute; (7) Research Institute for Groundwater; (8) Construction Research Institute; (9) Mechanical and Electrical Research Institute; (10) Survey Research Institute; (11) Coastal Research Institute; and (12) Environmental and Climate Research Institute. In addition, NWRC features a Strategic Research Unit, a Central Laboratory for Environmental Quality Monitoring, a Geographic Information Systems Laboratory, an Information and Documentation Center, and a highly specialized Central Library.

To strengthen the programs of its research institutes, NWRC has developed linkages with suitable Egyptian Universities and other research centers, including the Agricultural Research Center, the National Research Center and the Egyptian Academy of Scientific Research and Technology. Other activities include: (1) planning and evaluating research programs; (2) strengthening and upgrading staff capabilities; (3) organizing seminars, workshops and conferences; and (4) publishing the results of its research in national and international forums.

NWRC has taken the lead in setting up a general framework for future cooperation between Arab countries in the water field. A proposal for establishing an "Arab Network for Water Research" has been initiated by NWRC. This network will create Arab-driven technologies and solutions for the purpose of achieving the sustainability of water resources in the Arab world. On the international scale, NWRC has established effective communications with several international organizations to effect technology transfer, staff training, employee exchange programs, and conferences and seminars.

6. Mexico

The principal water research agency in Mexico is the Instituto Mexicano de Tecnologia del Agua, or Mexican Institute of Water Technology, also known as IMTA, for its acronym in Spanish. IMTA is a public agency charged with: (1) resolving the regional and national challenges related to water management, (2) carrying out research and development to conserve water resources, and (3) allocating water in an efficient and equitable manner among the various users.

To accomplish its mission, IMTA has the following resource base: (1) a professional staff of more than 300 specialists in the various water fields, many of them with more than 20 years of experience; (2) an interdisciplinary view of diverse water management issues; (3) extensive technical expertise, channelized to assure the sustainable development of water; and (4) extensive laboratories, software, and library facilities, without par in Mexico.

IMTA has fourteen laboratories: (1) hydraulics laboratory, (2) water-quality laboratory; (3) sewage treatment laboratory; (4) water potabilization laboratory; (5) computer center; (6) isotope hydrology laboratory, (7) laboratory for audio-visual production, (8) materials testing laboratory; (9) industrial wastewater treatment laboratory, (10) irrigation and drainage laboratory, (11) laboratory for calibration of meteorological sensors, (12) hydrobiology laboratory, (13) hydrogeochemistry laboratory, and (14) soil mechanics laboratory.

The IMTA campus spans 20 hectares in the municipality of Jiutepec, in the state of Morelos. Its physical plant, including office and laboratory buildings encompasses 23,000 m². In addition to its laboratories, IMTA features a training and capacity-building center, a center of water knowledge and an area for environmental education, and the graduate school (at Morelos campus) of Mexico's National Autonomous University (UNAM).

7. Canada

The principal water research agency in Canada is the National Water Research Institute (NWRI), a unit of the Water Science and Technology Directorate (WSTD), a unit of Environment Canada (EC), a public agency of the government of Canada. NWRI has two main centres: (1) Canada Centre for Inland Waters, in Burlington, Ontario, and (2) the National Hydrology Research Centre, in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. NWRI staff are also located in Gatineau and Montreal, Quebec; Fredericton, New Brunswick; and Victoria, British Columbia.

NWRI works with other government departments, other governments, and universities and research organizations to address water-related issues of public concern. It generates and disseminates scientific knowledge to resolve environmental issues of regional, national or international significance to Canada, and to sustain its natural resources and freshwater ecosystems.

The Canada Centre for Inland Waters (CCIW) hosts staff from Environment Canada's Water Science and Technology Directorate and staff from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO). CCIW is Canada's largest freshwater research facility. Its professional staff includes aquatic ecologists, hydrologists, toxicologists, physical geographers, limnologists, and environmental chemists. CCIW's facilities include: (1) a world-class ecotoxicological wetlab; (2) the world's largest recirculating flume, used in sediment transport studies; (3) water quality and aquatic ecosystem laboratories; (4) Great Lakes research vessels, operated in partnership with DFO; (5) world-class equipment calibration facilities; and (6) Wastewater Technology Centre.

Some of the highlights of CCIW's facilities include: (1) the National Laboratory for Environmental Testing, with a fully accredited environmental analysis capability for a wide range of organic and inorganic chemicals, including low-level metals and the analysis of organic contaminants; (2) the National Calibration Service tow carriage and test basin, which is Canada's only national facility for calibrating water velocity meters; (3) the inorganic laboratory, where robotics are used in sample analyses; (4) an ultra-trace laboratory for analysis of organics in surface waters; (5) DFO's Great Lakes Laboratory for Fisheries and Aquatic Science, and the Canadian Hydrographic Service.

The National Hydrology Research Centre (NHRC) hosts staff mainly from the Water Science and Technology Directorate of Environment Canada, as well as a group of researchers from the Climate Research Division of the Atmospheric Science and Technology Directorate. Facility highlights include: (1) a fully accredited laboratory capable of providing conventional and nutrients analysis in support of Environment Canada research and monitoring programs; (2) a Geographic Information Systems laboratory; (3) a computer modeling facility; and (4) a national isotope research facility.

NHRC's staff from the Climate Research Division carry out field-based research investigations of cold climate processes, including the investigation of water, energy, and carbon fluxes in the boreal forest and responses to climate variability and change. This group is responsible for the Boreal Ecosystem Research and Monitoring Sites, a network of flux and meteorological measurement towers located in the southern boreal forest in Saskatchewan, which are operated in partnership with the Canadian Forest Service, Parks Canada, and several universities. The Boreal Ecosystem Research and Monitoring Sites is a flagship flux tower supersite within the Canadian Carbon Program Research Network and contributes data sets to several international carbon science and flux tower programs.