Research Programs – World Water Solutions

Overview:

World Water Solutions runs an Indigenous-led scientific research program built on one core idea: water is not just a resource, it is a living system connected to soil, plants, forests, and people. Our research spans multiple disciplines because clean water problems are never just water problems — they are agricultural, ecological, and cultural problems that have to be studied together.

Water Systems & Treatment Science:

Studying how mineral-based water treatment affects pathogen load, water quality, and downstream ecosystem health — from household water to municipal-scale systems.

Plant Health & Agricultural Pathology:

Investigating how water quality and mineral composition affect plant disease resistance, crop yield, and soil-borne pathogen suppression in tropical and subtropical growing systems.

Soil Biology:

Researching the relationship between water chemistry, soil microbiology, and root-zone health — foundational to every food forest, aquaponic system, and reforestation effort WWS undertakes.

Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death (ROD) Research:

Our flagship native-forest health initiative. WWS is investigating whether changing the quality and character of water moving through forest watersheds — treating the water that touches ʻŌhiʻa roots, soils, and surrounding vegetation — can help suppress the fungal pathogens responsible for Rapid ʻŌhiʻa Death. This work extends our water treatment research into a real forest-watershed setting, with the long-term goal of protecting one of Hawaiʻi's most culturally and ecologically significant native trees.

Aquaponics & Sustainable Agriculture Systems:

Applied research at the Agro Culture Sanctuary's aquaponic and hydroponic systems — testing how water treatment, system design, and indigenous growing knowledge combine to produce resilient, low-input food systems.

Indigenous Ecological Knowledge:

Documenting and validating traditional Indigenous stewardship practices around water, land, and soil — treating Indigenous knowledge as a scientific input alongside laboratory research, not a footnote to it.

Our Lab Infrastructure:

WWS is building internal laboratory capacity so this research doesn't depend entirely on costly outside testing:

Hawaii, An on-site laboratory planned at the Agro Culture Sanctuary, supporting direct ROD and water-treatment research where the work actually happens.

Nigeria:

A small scientific laboratory at our future African Headquarters, staffed by at least one resident scientist for continuous testing tied to our manufacturing and distribution work.

Why This Matters:

Every dollar invested in this research feeds directly into WWS's field programs — the water technology we deploy, the crops we grow, and the forests we protect. This isn't research for its own sake. It's the scientific backbone underneath everything else WWS does.