The University Consortium (“The Consortium”) is a unique collaboration of groundwater researchers and industry sponsors which was founded in 1987 at the University of Waterloo as The Consortium for Solvents in Groundwater Research. The original focus of The Consortium’s research was centred on Dense Non-Aqueous Phase Liquids (DNAPLs) in groundwater. A book, Dense Chlorinated Solvents & Other DNAPLs in Groundwater History, was written by members of The Consortium, John Cherry and James Pankow, and published in 1996. Since its inception, The Consortium has grown to conduct research on a much broader range of groundwater topics. In 2008, the administrative hub of The Consortium was moved to the University of Guelph, where it is led by Founding member, John Cherry.

The current Consortium consists of 36 principal investigators from American, Canadian, and European universities, as well as an extended network of researchers from international institutions. Consortium research is supported through grants, government matching programs, and the annual support of 15 core corporate sponsors. The Consortium is also supported by in kind support such as equipment, personnel, laboratory and data analysis through other industry partners. (Please note that no overhead can be charged on any funds received from The Consortium). Consortium research has an annual budget approaching $10M, which helps facilitate field activities that are the foundation of applied groundwater research. At present, research is focused on contaminated industrial sites both in Canada and internationally, most of which are owned by Corporate Sponsors.

Download the University Consortium Overview 2022 document.