Integrated Catchment and Reservoir Systems Management

This proposal is for a Directed Internship for Dr Rupert Perkins, Earth and Ocean Sciences, Cardiff University, within Der Cymru Welsh Water (DCWW) based in Nelson, Glamorgan, South Wales. Perkins will spend 80% of his time over 12 months focussing on the study of catchment and reservoir management to determine current areas of knowledge and where this is lacking with respect to management of water supply quality. Existing DCWW water treatment works do not have the capability to deal with climate change induced increases in algal metabolite taste and odour compounds. If the causes of algal blooms and associated water supply issues cannot be identified, and suitable management steps in catchment and reservoir management developed, there will be a significant cost to increase treatment capacity, which is not a sustainable solution and has obvious environmental implications given the associated chemical and energy use. Reservoir treatment options are expensive and there is a danger that they are often inappropriate due to poor knowledge / root cause analysis of algal blooms and water quality impacts. This is an emerging issue for the water industry in the UK, and we need to do more to understand the issues proactively and not wait for climate change.

The project has four overarching aims: to review current knowledge in the form available in house data within DCWW and within literature; to determine areas where knowledge or data are limited or lacking; to determine how climate change induced predicted changes in rainfall and temperature may impact upon water supply quality; to develop a case study summarising these areas of water quality management with recommendations for future research collaboration between Water Authorities and academia. The project will use an integrated catchment and reservoir management approach using DCWW monitored site data sets within South Wales. The project will deliver an analysis of current state of knowledge of catchment and reservoir systems to determine current best evidence based management. This will utilise analysis of current available data within DCWW on catchment water quality and catchment management and how this links with available data for reservoir water quality and management. It will determine how well this is supported through existing research knowledge and systems monitoring, coupled with assessment of knowledge gaps within management to determine research needs. This will form the basis for an integrated approach to water supply systems management and how this is likely to change under predicted climate change scenarios (decrease in summer rainfall, increase in winter rainfall, increase in ambient temperature). This will be achieved through the Directed Internship of a current specialist in aquatic biology (the applicant, Perkins) within Dwr Cymru Welsh Water to analyse existing in-house monitoring and research data, review of wider lake and reservoir management research status within the UK and further afield and determination of the needs of evidence based management not currently met by these two areas of data/information sources.

The applicant is ideal for this role having over 15 y experience of freshwater research and a current collaboration with DCWW on reservoir management, catchments and nutrient management, microalgal and cyanobacteria ecology and photophysiology, lake recovery mechanisms and climate change impacts on freshwater foodwebs.