Using Citizen Science to Raise Public Awareness and Engagement with Water Issues

The world faces increasing freshwater supply challenges, fueled partly by rising demand as well as mismanagement of existing resources. This necessitates an aware and engaged public as well as sound water resource management that is supported by data-driven scientific knowledge. Often the public lacks sufficient awareness to participate in resource management; and too often scientists and decision-makers struggle to obtain sufficient good quality data (across time and space scales) to effect change. Citizen science offers a powerful tool to tackle both these challenges by providing efficient and effective ways to obtain useful data while educating citizens about water issues. This article uses examples to describe the role of citizen science, the opportunities available for engagement and identifies criteria for success.