Sustainable Water Management Research Group

Contents
1. People 2. Environmental ow interactions 3. Flood risk management 4. Culvert design, operation and maintenance 5. Urban drainage 6. Geophysical uid mechanics 7. Pollution incident modelling 8. River dynamics 9. Water resources management 10. Geographical information systems 11. Water engineering and sustainable development 12. Nanotechnology and water 13. Current PhD projects 13. Masters courses

People
1. Bayo Adeloye t: 0131 451 8236 e: a.j.adeloye@hw.ac.uk 2. Blanca Antizar-Ladislao t: 0131 650 5712 e: b.antizar-ladislao@ed.ac.uk 3. Scott Arthur t: 0131 451 3313 e: s.arthur@hw.ac.uk 4. Lindsay Beevers t: 0131 451 4640 e: l.beevers@hw.ac.uk 5. Roland Burkhard t: 0131 451 4609 e: r.burkhard@hw.ac.uk 6. Zhixian Cao t: 0131 451 8362 e: z.cao@hw.ac.uk 7. Alan Cuthbertson t: 0131 451 8358 e: a.j.s.cuthbertson@hw.ac.uk 8. Garry Pender t: 0131 451 3312 e: g.pender@hw.ac.uk 9. Steve Wallis t: 0131 451 3149 e: s.g.wallis@hw.ac.uk 10. Grant Wright t: 0131 451 8261 e: g.b.wright@hw.ac.uk

Environmental Flow Interactions

Researchers Lindsay Beevers

Overview Research investigates the interactions between ow, river form, ecosystem, ood regime, their link to physical structure and the dependence of these links on spatial and temporal scales. We have experience in examining the impact of disturbance to the physical structure of the river as a result of wide ranging development activities, and the investigation of potential cross-scale interactions and linking these to ecosystem response. Current Projects Power2Flow: Hydropower to environment water transfers in the Zambezi basin: balancing ecosystem health with hydropower generation in hydropower-dominated basins, funded through the Dutch International Development Fund ALAMIM: Lake Maryut Integrated Action Plan. EU Funded SMAPIII project. Integrated Coastal Zone Management Project for Lake Maryut, Egypt Floodplains of Cambodia and Viet Nam PRoACC: Adaption to climate change: Mekong Basin: Post doctoral programme.

Recent publications 1. Tillmant, A.; Beevers L. & Muyunda, B. 2010, Restoring a ow regime through the coordinated operation of a multireservoir system - The case of the Zambezi River Basin, Water Resources Research 2. Okello, N. L Beevers, J Lentvaar and W Douven, 2009. The doing and undoing of public participation in environmental impact assessment in Kenya, Impact Assessment and Project Appraisal, 27(3), September 2009, pp217226(10), DOI: 10.3152/146155109X465940 3. Augustin, N, L, Beevers, & W, Sloan. 2008. Predicting river ows for future climates using an autoregressive multinomial logit model. Water Resources Research, VOL. 44, doi:10.1029/2006WR005127, 2008

Flood Risk Management

Researchers Scott Arthur, Roland Burkhard, Zhixian Cao, Garry Pender, and Grant Wright

Overview Flood risk management includes defence, where appropriate, but also that society learns to live with oods and develops resilience to their impact. Within this framework we possess expertise in ood inundation modelling, storm water drainage systems, retention basins, risk analysis, risk communication and supporting GIS technologies. Current Projects The Flood Risk Management Research Consortium, 7 million multidisciplinary UK national research consortium supported by EPSRC, the Environment Agency, Rivers Agency (NI) and the Ofce of Public Works (Ireland), for further details see www.oodrisk.org.uk. Design, operation and retrotting of sustainable urban drainage systems. UK partners on SAWA (Strategic Alliance for Integrated Water Management) an 8 million euro project focussed on the implementation of the EU Floods Directive.

Recent publications 1. Unwin, D. & Arthur, S. (2009), A proposal to use Game Theory to enhance stakeholder engagement in the formulation of catchment ood risk management plans , UNESCO-IHP Road Map Towards a Flood Resilient Urban Environment, UNESCO, Paris. 2. Neelz, SP; Pender, G; Villanueva, I; Wright, NG; Bates, PD; Mason, DC; Whitlow, CD; (2006). Using remotely sensed data to support ood modelling, Proc. Instn of Civil Engrs, Water Management, March, pp 35-43. 3. Neelz, SP; Pender, G; (2008). Grid Resolution Dependency in Inundation Modelling: a case study, Proc. Of FLOODrisk 2008, 30th Sept. to 3rd Oct., Oxford, UK. 4. Cao, Z.; Wang, X.; Pender, G; and Zhang, S; (2010), Hydrodynamic modelling in support of ash ood warning, Proc. Instn of Civil Engrs, Water Management, July, pp 327-340.

Culvert Design, Operation & Maintenance

Researchers Scott Arthur and Grant Wright Overview There are over 300,000 culverts in the UK which provide a route for watercourses to travel under obstacles such as roads, railways, canals and developments. Debris blockage can have a signicant impact upon conveyance, especially during critical ood ows, causing ooding and sometimes damage to the culvert itself. Within this context EPSRC, the Environment Agency, Rivers Agency (NI) and the Ofce of Public Works (Ireland) have funded eld and laboratory work which is underway at Heriot Watt University to better understand the processes involved. Project aims Produce a tool which may be used to estimate the rate at which debris (natural & anthropogenic) reaches blockable structures (i.e. culverts and bridges). Be able to estimate the probability of a blockage occurring at any given structure. Undertake laboratory based research focussed on how trash screen design may be optimised to mange ood risk and O&M expenditure. Recent publications 1. Wallerstein. NP. Arthur. S. (2010), Development of Equations for Prediction of Blockage at Trash Screens. IAHR European Congress. Heriot-Watt University. Edinburgh. 4th - 6th May 2010. 2. Wallerstein. NP. Arthur. S. Sisinngghi. D. (2010), Towards Predicting Flood Risk Associated with Debris at Structures. Proceedings of the IAHR APD conference. Auckland. New Zealand. 21st - 24th March 2010. 3. Wallerstein. NP. Arthur. S. Sisinngghi. D. (2010), Relationship Between River Discharge and Debris Blockage at Culverts with Trash Screens. UNESCO-IHP Road Map Towards a Flood Resilient Urban Environment, UNESCO,

Urban Drainage
Researchers Scott Arthur, Steve Wallis and Grant Wright

Overview Sewerage derived ooding is categorised as either, due to hydraulic overloading or other causes. Although the media tends to focus on the former, 84% of sewerage derived ooding incidents (>30,000 per year) fall into the latter category and ~90% of these are due to blockages. Additionally, conventional urban drainage systems can neither cope with the potential impacts of climate change nor protect ecology from pollutants derived from urban surfaces. Improving sewerage asset management and designing implementation strategies for a new generation of Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) is therefore a key driver for research. Current Projects Sewerage Asset Management produced novel methodologies to prole blockages and estimate the resultant serviceability losses. SUDS Evaluation is developing a tool which allows SUDS treatment trains to be holistically evaluated to allow optimisation of footprint and water quality performance. Mixed ow modelling aims to improve the simulation of ow surcharging events within drainage systems.

Recent publications 1. Wright G., Arthur S., Bastien N., Bowles G. and Unwin D. (2010), Extent and cost of designing and constructing small areas ofhardstanding around new and existing, domestic and non-domestic buildings. Report to the Building Standard Division, Scottish Government. 2. Bastien, N., Arthur S., Wallis S., and Scholz, M. (2010), The Best Management of SuDS Treatment Trains: A Holistic Approach. Water Science and Technology 61 (1):263-272. 3. Arthur, S., Crow, H., Pedezert, L. & Karikas, N., (2009), The holistic prioritisation of proactive sewer maintenance, Water Science Technology, Vol 59, No. 7, 1385-1396.

Geophysical uid mechanics

Researchers Alan J. S. Cuthbertson

Overview Research areas include buoyancy-driven ow problems such as exchange, mixing and ushing processes in partially-blocked estuaries and the structure of turbulent buoyant jets and plumes. Sedimentation research has focussed on both cohesive and non-cohesive sediment transport problems such as the occulation and settling of sand-mud mixtures, sedimentation from particle-laden marine wastewater discharges and ne sand transport in gravel bed rivers. Recent geophysical uid mechanics research topics have included the behaviour of dense gravity currents in deep, submarine channels and the entrainment and upwelling within stratied lakes due to a maintained surface shear stress. Current and recent projects Dense water outow pathways through the Faroe Bank Channel and across the Wyville-Thomson Ridge (funded by NERC) The behaviour of dense gravity currents in a rotating channel (funded by EU Hydralab III) Sand-mud morphodynamics under combined tidal and wave actions (funded by EPSRC) Modelling studies of sediment deposition from wastewater discharges in the marine environment (funded by EPSRC)

Recent publications 1. Cuthbertson, A.J.S., Dong, P., Davies, P.A. (2010). Non-equilibrium occulation characteristics of ne-grained sediments in grid-generated turbulent ow. Coastal Engineering, 57(4), 447-460. 2. Cuthbertson, A.J.S., Dong, P., King, S., Davies, P.A. (2008). Hindered settling velocity of cohesive/non-cohesive sediment mixtures. Coastal Engineering, 55(12), 1197-1208. 3. Cuthbertson, A.J.S., Apsley, D.D., Davies, P.A., Lipari, G., Stansby, P.K. (2008). Deposition from particle-laden, plane, turbulent, buoyant jets. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, ASCE, 134(8), 1110-1122.

Pollution Incident Modelling

Researchers Steve Wallis

Overview Assessing the environmental impact of accidental releases of pollutants to the aquatic environment relies on being able to predict the transport and fate of solutes under the mechanisms of advection, diffusion and dispersion. We possess expertise in: state of the art mathematical modelling of these issues; execution of eld-scale tracer experiments designed to quantify the actual response of river systems; and predicting dispersion coefcients using theoretical, experimental and empirical techniques. Current Projects Study of dispersion in small streams using tracer experiments and mathematical modelling. Identication and optimisation studies of transient storage models under uncertainty. Applications of distributed parallel computer architectures for pollutant transport modelling.

Recent publications 1. Ani E-C., Wallis S., Kraslawski A. and Agachi S. 2009 Development, calibration and evaluation of two mathematical models for pollutant transport in a small river. Environmental Modelling & Software, 24, pp 1139-1152. 2. Wallis S.G. & Manson J.R. 2008 The inuence of oodplain characteristics on longitudinal dispersion in a natural channel. Proceedings of Hydropredict2008, Prague, September, pp 61-64. 3. Piotrowski A., Wallis S.G., Napiorkowski J.J. and Rowinski P.M. 2007 Evaluation of 1-D tracer concentration prole in a small river by means of Multi-Layer Perceptron Neural Networks. Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 11, pp 1883-1896.

River Dynamics
Researchers Zhixian Cao, Steve Wallis and Garry Pender

Overview River dynamics concerns uvial processes of water ow, sediment transport and morphological evolution. We have long-standing expertise in theoretical, experimental and computational studies of uvial processes, ranging from threshold of motion, entrainment, graded bed load transport, turbidity current, coupled mathematical modelling of uvial processes, multiple time scales of uvial processes, to the application to ood risk analyses in which sediment transport plays an important role. Current projects An enhanced computer model for non-equilibrium graded sediment transport, funded by EPSRC. Differential mechanisms of bed load and suspended sediment transport by unsteady ows, funded by Natural Science Foundation of China. Multiple time scales of uvial processes and the implications of mathematical modelling, funded by Ministry of Education, China.

Recent publications 1. Cao, Z., Hu. P., Pender, G. (2010). Reconciled bed load sediment transport rates in ephemeral and perennial rivers. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, in press. 2. Hu, P., Cao, Z. (2009). Fully coupled mathematical modelling of turbidity currents over erodible bed. Adv. in Water Resources, 32(1), 1-15. 3. Shvidchenko A. B., Pender, G. (2008). Computer modelling of graded sediments in rivers. Proc. Inst. Civ. Eng., Water Management, 161(5), 289297. 4. Cao, Z., Li, Y., Yue, Z. (2007). Multiple time scales of alluvial rivers carrying suspended sediment and their implications for mathematical modelling. Adv. in Water Resources, 30(4), 715-729. 5. Haynes, H., Pender, G. (2007). Stress history effects on graded bed stability. Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, ASCE, 133(4), 343-349.

Water Resources Management

Researchers Adebayo Adeloye, Roland Burkhard and Lindsay Beevers

Overview Water resources are currently under severe pressure in many parts of the world due to over-abstraction induced by increasing domestic and irrigation demands, changing runoff patterns caused by land-use changes, such as, deforestation and urbanisation, and the contamination of groundwater and surface waters from agriculture and industry. Added to these are the emerging problems arising from climate change. Our water resources research is addressing these challenges by delivering tools for better planning and operation of irrigation and water supply reservoirs, groundwater evaluation and management, and wastewater treatment and operation. Ways of enhancing water resources availability through, rain/runoff harvesting, and integrated water resources management (IWRM) are also being pursued. Current Projects Optimal water resources management model for domestic water supply using both desalinated and groundwater, Sultanate of Oman- funding by the Omani government Modelling activated sludge wastewater treatment plants using articial intelligence techniques- funding by the Syrian government. Evaluation of land suitability for irrigated farming using fuzzy logic in northwest Libya- funding by the Libyan government.

Recent publications 1. Adeloye, AJ; Sudip, P; ONeill, M (2010). Generalised storage-yieldreliability modelling: independent validation of the Vogel-Stedinger (V-S) model using a Monte Carlo simulation approach. J. Hydrol. (to appear). 2. Adeloye, AJ (2009). The relative utility of multiple regression and ANN models for rapidly predicting the capacity of water supply reservoirs. Env. Model. Software, 24(10), 1233 1240. 3. Shaki, AA; Adeloye, AJ (2007). Mathematical modelling of effects of Irawan irrigation project water abstractions on Murzuq aquifer systems in Libya. J. Arid Environment, 71, 133 156.

Geographical Information Systems

Researchers Roland Burkhard, Adebayo Adeloye and Scott Arthur Overview Data management and mapping using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) is increasingly important to determine the allocation of resources within a spatial context. Efcient data management closely integrated with GIS applications assists decision makers in taking appropriate action within ever tighter constraints. The scope ranges from rehabilitation of sewer systems to whole catchment management plans. Processing and deriving new data from the underlying data bases forms an important part of any GIS based management framework. Current Projects Built Infrastructure for Older People in Conditions of Climate Change, funded by EPSRC Deriving sewer rehabilitation strategies using customer complaints. Water infrastructure planning in economically weak regions Land suitability for irrigated farming using GIS in northwest Libya- funding by the Libyan government. Key publications 1. Robertson N, Burkhard R, Die Moran A, Chan T; Distributed Hydrological Modelling using Land-use Classication Automatically Derived from Satellite Imagery, AGILE Conference Hannover, June 2009 2. Burkhard R, Lakehal S; Sewer rehabilitation planning - priority and cost planning using GIS; Water Practice & Technology; Volume 1, Issue 1; August 2006

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Water engineering and sustainable development

Researchers Blanca Antizar-Ladislao Overview Now, possibly more than at any time in the past, there is a need for innovation and engineering to ensure that global challenges, such as climate change, food production and water supply can be successfully met. This research focuses on novel and existing technologies that have broad applications (e.g., nanotechnology, biotechnology), and can be adequately integrated in Sustainable Development. The scope ranges from the use of algae as a solution to wastewater treatment, green house gas abatement and production of biofuels to the role of engineering in International Development. Current Projects The Role of Civil and Environmental Engineering in International Development: Water Engineering Algae as a Sustainable Solution to Wastewater Treatment, Green House Gas Abatement and Renewable Energy Supply.

Key publications 1. Aitken, D., Antizar-Ladislao, B. (2010) Algae: A Solution to Wastewater Treatment, Green House Gas Emissions Mitigation and Biofuel Production? 11th UK Young Water Professionals Conference, Craneld, UK, 14-15/04/2010 2. Byars, P., Woodrow, M., Antizar-Ladislao, B. (2009) Integrated Technology in International Development for Water Solutions Using the Rights-Based Approach Water Science and Technology. 60(10): 2713-2720

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Nanotechnology and Water

Researchers Blanca Antizar-Ladislao

Overview The use of nanoparticles (NPs) as reactive agents in environmental remediation is an area of active research. Little is known about their applications in water treatment and implications in natural water systems. The intention is to improve current knowledge on the efcacy of NPs in the removal of contaminants and pathogens in water and the effect of NPs interaction with living organisms present in water and the food chain. Current Projects A feasibility study for household level water treatment in Sierra Leone using a ceramic water lters and investigating the effectiveness of colloidal titanium dioxide as a lter coating Nanoparticles Fate and Behaviour in Contaminated Aquatic Systems and Associated Environmental Risks. Key publications 1. Wu, L., Khraisheh, M., Antizar-Ladislao, B (In press) Investigation of the use of TiO2 Doped with metal ions in water disinfection Water Science and Technology 2. Hansen M., Vieira A., Antizar-Ladislao B., The efcacy of combining colloidal TiO2 or colloidal Ag coatings with the ceramic water purier for use in rural and peri-urban Sierra Leone, EWB-UK Research Conference 2010, The Royal Academy of Engineering, London, UK, 19/02/2010 3. Hansen M., Vieira A., Antizar-Ladislao B., Efcacy of ceramic water puriers coated with colloidal TiO2 or colloidal Ag for use in rural and peri-urban Sierra Leone, 11th UK Young Water Professionals Conference, Craneld, UK, 14-15/04/2009

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Masters Courses
Sustainable River Catchment Flood Management The need for graduates in this eld is likely to increase as the Floods Directive is implemented in the EU (e.g. Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009 and the Flood and Water Management Bill in England & Wales). The aim of the EU Floods Directive is to reduce and manage the risks that oods pose to human health, the environment, infrastructure and property - member states will have to rst undertake a preliminary assessment to identify areas of risk. For such areas, they will then need to draw up ood risk maps and make ood risk management plans focused on prevention, protection and preparedness. The course prepares graduates to participate in these important topics. Further details at: http://www.postgraduate.hw.ac.uk/courses/view/317/ Water Resources and Catchment Management Recent droughts and oods in the EU, India, Australia, China, USA and Africa highlight the need for our water resources to be better managed. The aim of the course is to provide a sound understanding of sustainable water resources issues by developing the knowledge and skills necessary for planning and management to meet the needs of the built and natural environment within the context of climate change. Further details at: http://www.postgraduate.hw.ac.uk/courses/view/31/

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