UNIVERSITY BASED RESEARCH PARTNERSHIPS
‘A FLAVOUR’
Professor Adrian J Saul
a.j.saul@sheffield.ac.uk
Pennine Water Group and Catchment
Science Centre
PENNINE WATER GROUP
EPSRC Platform Grant
University of Sheffield
Civil and Structural Engineering
Chemical and Process Engineering
Management School
University of Bradford
Engineering Design and Technology
Archeological, Geographical and Environmental Sciences
PWG
• Formed October 2001 - now
11
academics
10
10
20
PDRA
RGRA
PhD students
• The Group proposes to advance engineering and
scientific knowledge across all aspects of water
services.
• Main emphasis is on the more effective and efficient
management of water and wastewater assets and
delivery of services.
• International Advisory Group
• Extensive research collaboration with industry
• Excellent facilities
• Research funding in excess of £6M
• Partnership opportunities with CSC
Research Themes
•
Integrated Flood Risk Management
(Professor Adrian Saul)
•
Solute transport and mixing processes
(Dr Joby Boxall)
•
Sediment transport and pollution processes (Dr Simon Tait)
•
Sewer system management
(Professor Richard Ashley)
•
Integrated Asset management
(Ashley and Saul)
•
Potable water distribution systems
(Boxall and Saul)
•
Stormwater management
(Dr Virginia Stovin)
•
Social science
(Dr Elizabeth Sharp)
•
Economics and whole life cost accounting (Linda Lewis)
•
Bio-chemical systems
(Dr Catherine Biggs)
•
Chemical processes and biofilms
(Dr Robert Edyvean)
•
Instrumentation
(Dr Kirill Horoshenkov)
• Research methods
•
Fieldwork, laboratory and pilot scale studies
•
Full-scale system monitoring
•
Analytical techniques
•
Mathematical modelling and CFD
• Ecotoxicology
• Ecosystem structure
Animal
and
and
functioning
Plant Sciences
• Conservation
and
restoration
Town and Regional
• Systems analysis
Planning
•Bayesian networks
and Landscape
• Hydrogeology
• Natural attenuation
• Sustainable urban
redevelopment
APS
Comp
Sci
• Ecosystem modelling
Centre for Terrestrial
• Earth observation
Carbon Dynamics
science
CTCD
GPRG
CSC Sheffield
core
Soc
PWG
• Urban flooding
•SUDS
• Urban sediment and
pollutant transport
P&S
• Model formulation
• Model simplification
• Quantifying uncertainty
Geog
• Nutrient chemistry
• Sediment erosion
• GIS and remote
sensing
• Influence networks
• Water, Environment
and Society seminars
External
collaborators
Flooding
•
PWG and CSC
•
2 INTERREG projects
•
AUDACIOUS – adaptable urban drainage for climate change
•
Flood Risk Management Research Consortium (FRMRC)
£14.5M
•
Stormwater management
SUDS
Green Roofs
•
Socio – economic and health impacts
1
Open Watercourse
Overspill
Overspill
2
3
Overland Flow
4500m3+ FAV
Flood Area Volume
•
Flooded Area
Glasgow Flooding 30/7/02 - Case Study No 1 (20 Int)
350 m3 STV
1 in 30 yr upgrade
New approaches to manage flood risk in urban areas
EU - example
•
Project CORONA - £1.7M European research project which attempts to build
confidence in forecasting natural attenuation of groundwater pollution
•
The goal is to increase confidence in assessment and forecasting of natural
attenuation by:
•
strengthening the scientific basis which supports the use of natural
attenuation as risk assessment tool
•
providing simple but robust engineering tools for assessment and
quantification of natural attenuation as a remedial approach for groundwater
pollution
•
promoting the use of these tools in the end-user community of problem
holders, regulators and advisors
Project partners
University of Sheffield (co-ordinator)
University of Tubingen (Germany)
Technical University of Denmark
University of Ferrara (Italy)
TNO (Netherlands)
Charles University, Prague (Czech Rep.)
Queen's University, Belfast (UK)
University of Utrecht (Netherlands)
Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne
(Switzerland)
ESI (UK)
MUWS: Microbiology in Urban Water Systems
FP6
Marie Curie Transfer of Knowledge Grant
Partnerships
• CPE: Catherine Biggs, Robert Edyvean
• APS: Mark Osborn
• CSE: Joby Boxall, Richard Ashley, Adrian Saul
• Civil @ Bradford: Simon Tait
• 3 TOK Fellows – Peter Deines & tbc
Science Objective:
To integrate into
existing PWG projects so that microbiological
issues associated with urban water systems can
now be addressed
Develop and apply molecular microbiological techniques for
the characterisation and quantification of planktonic and
biofilm microbiological communities, within water
distribution and sewer networks.
Develop protocols to quantify the impact of these
microorganisms, due to their presence, diversity and
function on the performance of water distribution and
sewer systems
URSULA - Urban River Corridors and
Sustainable Living Agendas
•
People are at the heart of the urban area
•
The River delivers ecological goods and services
•
Design offers the possibility of innovation
•
Values are the agents of change
•
Project Management is essential to bind the tasks and
deliver the Outcomes
Sheffield City Council
Waterways Strategy Group South
Yorkshire Forest Yorkshire Forward
Environment Agency
Arup
Scott Wilson
SNIFFER
RTPI
RICS
BURA
Yorkshire Water
Multi-Scale Framework
Whole life costs associated with the water
framework directive
TOPCAT & INCA
Research scale models
SCALE UP
Changes in farming
practice and in local
land use
The
Chequers
Catchment scale
models, GIS ,
risk indicators
INCA
Engagement,
Discussion,
Willingness to listen
Research catchment
scale experiments
Stakeholder
workshops
Informing
stakeholders
Implementation tools
TopManage
The PERM
SCALE
DOWN
Implementation at
farm scale
Monitoring site: flow and water quality
Catchment scale
planning
River Basin
Management
Plans
Decision
Support
Tools
The
PERM
Yorkshire Water Strategic Partnership
5 year funding of base resource
10 Year Vision – 26 projects identified
12 current projects circa £1M
Cross disciplinary from customer engagement through to near real
time monitoring and modelling with proactive operation and
management
2 Strategic research catchments have been established
Tree
Tree
Tree
WATER TREATMENT
WORKS
DMA1000
DMA 1001
SERVICE
RESERVOIR
DMA 1002
CONTROL ROOM
DMA 1003
Water: perception & behaviour
Aim: To define public
Theoretical tools
for understanding
public perceptions:
How shared-beliefs occur
awareness of water
Theory of
innovations & evaluate
Social
methods of changing
representations
perception & consequent
behaviour
Can I save
How perceptions inhibit or enable people to act
Objectives:
water? Is
it worth
it?
Theory of
Self efficacy
• Define what constitutes an effective information
campaign
• Conduct case studies to develop & test effective
information campaigns
• Provide recommendations about how sustainable
water
management campaigns should be designed &
implemented
• Make recommendations with respect to ongoing
evaluation
of sustainable water campaigns.
Christine Sefton (c.sefton@bradford.ac.uk)
It
never
stops
rainin
g – so
why
should
I save
water
?
Criteria for effective
How
to Information campaigns
avoid
What are they
talking about?
Deliverables:
Two packages containing
practical advice about:
• How to research what the
public think.
• How to encourage the public to think &
act
in a more sustainable way toward
water.
Dr. Liz Sharp (e.sharp@bradford.ac.uk)
Summary
• University has large interdisciplinary groups with
wide ranging skills
• Extensive collaborations with academics world wide
• Extensive links Industry
• All aspects of research undertaken
• Substantial funding from a large number of sources
• Excellent track record in transferring research
outputs to industry design standards and guidelines
• Excellent facilities for fieldwork and experimental
research
Future
We welcome your collaboration
Summary
‘and research funds’