AI-data centers are rapidly proliferating across the United States. These facilities promise technological and economic benefits but have associated steep increases in electricity and water use that can strain local resources and infrastructure. Communities are reporting growing concerns over water scarcity, higher utility …
Center for Water Policy Director, Professor, and Lynde B. Uihlein Endowed Chair Melissa Scanlan was a featured expert on the Milwaukee Journal’s Town Hall panel on water use by AI-data centers. Professor Scanlan highlighted that water demands include the water used to create electricity for the data centers …
The Center for Water Policy has launched a national search for a Water Policy Specialist. This position is designed to immerse emerging lawyers in the dynamic world of applied research for multidisciplinary water policy solutions. The Water Policy Specialist will …
The Center’s mission is to provide world class interdisciplinary solutions to resolve problems related to the protection, restoration, and conservation of freshwater resources. Our staff have already committed to over 20 private and public engagements in the first half of 2026 to advance that mission by sharing our expertise in the field of water law and policy. We will …
Center for Water Policy Director, Professor, and Lynde B. Uihlein Endowed Chair Melissa Scanlan co-authored the 7th edition of “Water Law in a Nutshell,” published by West Academic. This newest edition, co-authored with water law professors Sandra Zellmer from the University of Montana School of Law and Adell Amos from the University of …
A new article by Journalist in Residence Dan Egan for Wisconsin Watch exposes a critical legal fight over public access to Lake Michigan beaches. The article follows the case of UWM professor Paul Florsheim, who is fighting Shorewood’s issuance of a trespassing citation for walking across a …
Center for Water Policy Director, Professor, and Lynde B. Uihlein Endowed Chair Melissa Scanlan was quoted in a Washington Post article examining a recent report from the United Nations University, the U.N.’s research arm, that finds climate change, pollution and decades of overuse have pushed the …
In 2025, the Water Policy Program at the UW-Milwaukee School of Freshwater Sciences continued its multidisciplinary research on the most urgent freshwater policy challenges. Our work—featured in academic articles, policy briefs, and other reports—examines a broad set of issues shaping …
Water Policy and Science Communications Graduate Student Research Fellowship The Center for Water Policy is seeking candidates for a two-year funded Water Policy and Science Communications Graduate Student Research Fellowship, while earning a master’s degree from the School of Freshwater Sciences at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. To …
Center for Water Policy Assistant Director Tressie Kamp was featured in a “Circle of Blue” article on wetlands and the 2025 1,000-year flood in Milwaukee, WI. The article examines how wetlands, “nature’s kidneys,” mitigate flood-related property damage after heavy rain events. The article also highlights wetland restoration sites around southeastern Wisconsin …
