The Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment held a Water Salon on October 7, 2010, in San Francisco that focused on freshwater challenges facing California and the West. Stanford University faculty discussed their work in solving issues regarding groundwater, water re-use and performance metrics for water management. 

The Stanford Woods Institute, the Bill Lane Center for the American West and others at Stanford are currently engaged in regional investigations, science and engineering studies, policy analyses and leadership development to address the urgent demands for freshwater in California and the western United States. Through the new Water in the West Initiative, the Stanford Woods Institute and the Lane Center have assembled a strong multidisciplinary team of Stanford researchers, along with partners from other universities and the public, private and nonprofit sectors, to advance new solutions to freshwater challenges.

The October 7 event was a follow-up to the March 2010 water salon at Stanford that provided an overview of the Freshwater Research Initiative being launched by the Stanford Woods Institute. The freshwater initiative encompasses three separate strategic research collaborations, including Water in the West, that will address major freshwater challenges facing the world.