Newcastle University

Water

See the write up and videos of our recent event "Water, For All, Forever: Managing Water Locally" which was hosted at Newcastle in collaboration with WaterAid, Oxfam and the ICE in July.

'Water is a key issue in global sustainability – it is a vital requirement for all forms of life, and a resource which is increasingly compromised due to population pressure and climate change. Securing sufficient water quantity and quality is an issue, and often a compromise, facing many millions of people worldwide on a daily basis. Water security affects livelihoods, health, political relations, environmental protection, industrial innovation; in fact it contributes to almost every aspect of our lives and surroundings.

Newcastle University has a track record, over the past 60 years, of being one of the leading research groups in Water in the UK. This expertise and experience relates to water in a very broad sense; both in relation to scale of enquiry and the breadth of disciplines covered. The group has contributed extensively to national and international research outcomes, supported by Research Council funding, as well as substantial European Union and international grants. This has formed the basis for our excellence in research with impact, and enabled us to acquire and develop our superb research facilities.

The group benefits from numerous partnerships, many long-standing and regularly revived, which have been nurtured through collaborative research and/or formal agreements. We have been particularly strong internationally with an excellent record of engagement reflected in our projects and networks. Our research work has helped to shape government policy in diverse areas from climate change to pollution and driven innovation in industry.

This website acts as a connection point where you can access relevant work carried out across the University through the Water Theme of the Newcastle Institute for Research on Sustainability (NIReS), which is actively working to develop the interdisciplinary nature of our activities, both internally, across schools including Civil Engineering and Geosciences; Geography, Politics and Sociology; Agriculture, Food and Rural Development; Chemical Engineering and Advanced Materials; Marine Science and Technology; as well as with our external partners.'

Acting Theme Coordinator *: Jaime Amezaga, School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences

Water is among the planet’s most precious commodities. Global issues, like climate change and increasing population numbers, are impacting upon the supply and demand for water resources. At Newcastle University, we are focussing our attention on sustainable water management, helping to shape national and international policy in areas including:

Water and Society:
We are making substantial contributions to the following issues:

• Water Governance and Conflicts
• Institutional Analysis
• Stakeholder Engagement
• Integrated Land and Water Resources Management in the Developing World

Key Schools: Geography, Politics and Sociology; Agriculture, Food and Rural Development; Civil Engineering and Geosciences.

Flooding:
Our activities in this area fall within the headings:

• Urban Drainage
• Catchment Management and Hydrology
• Computational Hydraulics
• Glacial Outburst Flooding

Key Schools: Civil Engineering and Geosciences; Geography, Politics and Sociology.

Climate Change:
The high profile research in this area includes:

• Groundwater Hydrology
• Climate and Weather Impacts Generator
• Modelling the Effects of Changing Climate

Key Schools: Civil Engineering and Geosciences.

Pollution and Health:
This diverse area of research involves wide ranging collaboration across the University and covers:

• Minewater Remediation
• Contaminated Land
• Fluorosis

Key Schools: Civil Engineering and Geosciences; Institute of Health and Society; Dental Sciences.

For further information, email sustainability@ncl.ac.uk.

* Professor Tom Curtis (School of Civil Engineering and Geosciences) is Theme Coordinator for Water, but is currently on an EPSRC 'Dream' Fellowship