Scottish Science Advisory Council (SSAC) internship opportunity
Deadline for applicants is 7th November 2022. For more information and to apply please see the document below.
CRW2022_07 Climate Crisis: informing Scotland’s actionable mitigation and adaptation response to water scarcity
CREW Code: CRW2022_07
Theme: Hydrological Extremes, Coasts and Risk Management
Project status: Project complete. Click here to visit the publication page to view the project outputs.
Type of project: Capacity Building
Lead research team: University of Dundee
Scotland’s climate is changing at a rate unprecedented in human history. We are becoming exposed to climate related risks, such as water scarcity, that were not considered significant in the past and have not been planned for. The first phase in addressing this shift in risk has been to develop early warning and emergency measures to mitigate the impacts of exceptional events such as the 2018 European drought and its impact in Scotland. However, as we better understand the projected increasing severity and frequency of dry periods and our potential future demands on water supply, an adaptation gap has become evident that risks the security of what has, up until now, been seen as a dependable, high-quality water supply.
In this project the research team review past, present and future changes in water scarcity risk in Scotland. Through engagement with a broad spectrum of stakeholders in the water sector and government agencies the research team asked the questions: 1) What is currently being done to reduce the likelihood and severity of water scarcity? 2) How effective are these strategies now and will they still work under a changing climate future? 3) What additional actions do we need to take to address water scarcity in the future?
In answering these questions, the research team highlight the current challenges in addressing the water scarcity risk and provide recommendations on how to address them. These recommendations are presented as programme of work over the short and long term. To take it forward, the research team propose a governance structure formed of representatives from the relevant agencies and in partnership with businesses and communities. The programme is a prioritised set of recommended actions that would contribute to the delivery of a system of national water resource planning, supported by improved levels of water stewardship from across society. The planning will be informed by better access to water supply and demand information and a programme of research that addresses the evidence gaps and improves knowledge exchange across the water sector.
This project has completed. Click here to visit the publication page to view the project outputs.
CRW2022_02 The effect of shellfish, kelp and sea grass beds on flood risk and coastal erosion in Scotland
CREW Code: CRW2022_02
Theme: Hydrological Extremes, Coasts and Risk Management
Project status: Project in progress
Type of project: Capacity building
Context: The intention of the project is to fill gaps in knowledge around the role of shallow marine habitats in flood and coastal erosion mitigation in Scotland. The work has relevance to multiple policy areas, including those relating to flooding and coastal erosion, biodiversity, climate change, marine planning and ambitions for a blue economy.
Budget: up to a maximum of £100,000.
Aim: The overall aim of this project is to inform whether shellfish (oyster and/or blue mussel beds), kelp and sea grass should be incorporated into natural flood management (NFM) in Scotland and whether (and which) existing features should be protected or restored for NFM and coastal erosion mitigation.
Project key questions:
- What is the current state of knowledge and data availability?
- What additional information can be sourced from relevant stakeholders including experts and policy-makers, especially with regards to recent developments and unpublished data?
- What marine habitats could be considered in the Scottish context to reduce flood and erosion risk?
- What does the literature suggest regarding the role of different marine habitats in flood and coastal erosion mitigation and potential benefits and limitations?
- What is the historic and current distribution of native oyster beds, blue mussel beds, kelp and sea grass beds in Scotland?
- How are these habitats subject to commercial fishing or harvesting practices in Scotland and are there future plans to expand commercial exploitation of these habitats?
- Which existing marine habitats are most likely to reduce flood risk and erosion to adjacent shorelines in Scotland?
- What plans currently exist and what are the costs for planned restoration of these features in Scotland?
- Which areas/locations in Scotland could be targeted to reduce this risk, and/or are there sites where existing features could be protected or restored to reduce risk?
- How can this be represented in form of a simplified map to inform stakeholders?
- What are the clear opportunities for protection, regeneration, and/or restoration of these habitats in Scotland and what recommendations can be given about how to design these features for flood and coastal erosion management?
Impact: Benefits include the development of policy in relation to NFM that facilitates the management, restoration and protection of these marine features, thus helping to reduce flooding to coastal communities and increase resilience to future changes in risk.
Lead research team: Heriot Watt Universtiy
CRW2022_04 Assessing the socio-economic impacts of soil degradation on Scotland's water environment
CREW Code: CRW2022_04
Theme: Land and Water Resouce Management
Project status: This project has completed. Click here to visit the publication page to view the project outputs.
Type of project: Capacity building
Scotland’s various policies to protect its soils from degradation create economic benefits. In this project the economic costs of soil degradation in Scotland were estimated. Using the best available data the impacts of soil compaction, sealing and contamination were assessed. The extent of these degradation processes was then used to calculate the costs across Scotland. Compacted soils can cost farmers £15 to £209 per ha in extra fuel use. The annual combined impact on crop yields and fuel use across Scotland is likely to cost between £25 million and £75 million. The compaction of soils and sealing by infrastructure could lead to a 1% increase in flooding, with insurance claims of between £57,000 and £76,000 per property flood event. Soil compaction can exacerbate erosion and increase previous estimates of erosion costs. Soil degradation also arises from contamination and the loss of biodiversity, but these are difficult to estimate. Given large costs of soil degradation annually, policies to protect this natural resource will benefit Scotland’s economy. The project team only costed direct impacts, using the available data that was often limited. The indirect costs on pollution, human health, supply chains and greenhouse gas emissions will be much greater, and additional monitoring is required to assess these effectively.
Lead research team: James Hutton Institute
This project has completed. Visit the publication page here to view the project outputs.
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Policy: Water and Climate Policy/Regulation, Natural Flood Management, Coastal Erosion Management.
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Science: flooding, water scarcity, coastal erosion, risk scenarios and nature-based solutions.
CREW's Hydrological Extremes, Coasts and Risk Management theme focusses on providing high quality science knowledge regarding flooding, water scarcity, coastal erosion, risk scenarios and nature-based solutions.
The projects undertaken within this theme inform policy and regulation areas including Scottish National Adaptation Plan (SNAP3), Climate Change Plan for Scotland, Flood Resilience Strategy, Flood Risk Management Act, Natural Flood Management and National Coastal Change Assessments.
Improved understanding of the interrelationships between climate and water from source to sea will help deliver short and longer-term outcomes for society and the water environment.
Recent research within this thematic area includes:
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Climate Crisis: informing Scotland’s actionable mitigation and adaptation response to water scarcity - the research team review past, present and future changes in water scarcity risk in Scotland, highlighted the current challenges in addressing the water scarcity risk and provide recommendations on how to address them.
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The effect of shellfish, kelp and sea grass beds on flood risk and coastal erosion in Scotland - The research has relevance to multiple policy areas including flooding, biodiversity, climate change marine planning and the blue economy.
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Creating healthy and resilient river systems across Scotland: prioritising research and development gap opportunities for river woodlands - The project is identifying opportunities to address R&D gaps to enable investment in new and extended river woodlands, and improved/restored riverscape environments.
Related Research
Related Publications
CRW2022_06 Emerging Contaminants: Informing Scotland’s strategic monitoring and policy approaches on substances of increasing concern
CREW code: CRW2022_06
Theme: Water Quality & Health
Type of project: Capacity Building
Project status: This project has been completed.
Please view project publication page here.
The aim of this project was to inform, prioritise, and coordinate actionable monitoring and policy-based approaches to identify, assess, and mitigate risks from substances of increasing concern to Scotland’s water environment. Contaminants of increasing concern (CICs) comprise a diverse range of substances and organisms, including chemical groups such as pharmaceuticals and pesticides; biological contaminants such as pathogens and antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) genes; nanomaterials; and microplastics. CICs include compounds and organisms that are ‘new’ or increasing in presence in the environment or compounds or organisms already known to be present for which new information becomes available, e.g. on pathways or toxicities. Substances and groups considered CICs therefore evolve over time, due to new insights or new patterns of use.
Using a Substance Mapping approach, including literature review, an expert survey and a knowledge sharing workshop, the team found that based on evidence encountered, no CIC groups can be discounted for Scotland and significant data gaps exist on sources, pathways, exposure routes, hazard and risk. Many national and international databases are however available and could be consolidated for Scotland. The research team further recommended partnership working, an international review of policy options, and expansion of research capacity to further refine and fill the knowledge gaps.
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CRW2022_01 Developing risk assessment approaches for PFAS and watch list parameters under the recast Drinking Water Directive
CREW Code: CRW2022_01
Theme: Water Quality & Health
Project status: Complete. Please click here to visit the publication page to view the project outputs.
Type of project: Capacity Building
The research project conducted assessments of the potential presence of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), 17β-estradiol, and nonylphenol for drinking water supply sources in Scotland, to identify high risk areas and enable prioritisation of monitoring and additional knowledge generation.
PFAS, a class of synthetic chemicals produced since the 1940s, are persistent, toxic and bioaccumulative and have been linked to detrimental impacts on childhood development, cancers, and immune system disorders. Nonylphenol and 17β-estradiol are endocrine-disrupting chemicals connected to cancer, reduced fertility and obesity. Due to increasing awareness of the potential occurrence of these substances in the environment, a new standard for PFAS was introduced for Scottish drinking water in January 2023, and Scottish Water commenced a nationwide risk based sampling programme at that time. 17β-estradiol and nonylphenol were added to an EU drinking water watchlist, so Scottish Water will need to monitor for their presence in their supplies when the watch list is adopted in Scotland.
The research project estimated which supplies had the highest potential likelihood of detecting the substances in the raw (pre-treated) water. The assessments identified higher likelihood of PFAS and nonylphenol presence in those areas with higher population and industry densities (predominantly the central belt and east of Scotland), whereas areas with the highest likelihood of 17β-estradiol presence were those under more intensive agricultural use (predominantly the northeast and south of Scotland). Having identified these areas now allows further refinement of monitoring programmes to aid our understanding of the potential presence of the substances, their sources and possible treatment requirements. This in turn will inform best strategies and actions to reduce concentrations of the contaminants if necessary, not only in drinking water, but also in the envrionment.
Lead research team: University of Dundee
The project has completed. Please click here to visit the publication page to view the project outputs.
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Policy: River Basin Management Planning (RBMP 3), Nature Capital, Post CAP Rural Support.
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Science: water and soil management, energy, land use, diffuse pollution, resource recovery and reuse
The Land and Water Resource Management theme considers the relationship between water and land management, detection and mitigation of diffuse pollution and resource recovery and reuse.
The projects within this theme will inform regulation and policy in areas which include nature capital, land use and urbanisation and post ‘common agricultural policy’ rural support.
The improved understanding of water and land resource management will support recognition and quality of the ecosystem services on which society depends.
Recent research within this thematic area includes:
- A capacity building project aiming to assess the socio-economic impact of soil degradation on Scotland’s water environment. Direct and indirect costs to society will be considered with a focus on water quality, aquatic habitats, biodiversity and flooding.
- A capacity building project on Hydro Sector engagement over environmentally effective and cost-efficient sediment management at impoundments. The project aims to improve understanding and raise awareness of the cost effectiveness of different sediment management options available to address these risks.
Related Research
News
Related Publications
CREW Programme Report 2016-2022
Water is at the heart of Scottish life - socially, environmentally, and in economic terms as a sector in its own right, and as a critical resource in Scotland's manufacturing, agriculture, food and drink, tourism and energy sectors. Scotland's Hydro Nation agenda supports the Scottish Government's vision as a world leader in the sustainable management of water. To deliver that vision we must ensure that the respected knowledge generated by research underpins our future. This ambition is central to CREW's values. Our underlying ethos has, and will continue to be, to deliver the right information to the right people at the right time, and in the right way.
Over the last six years, and as highlighted in this Programme Report, CREW has delivered more than 105 projects in the process of meeting its objectives of supporting policy and practice, and in delivering relevant outputs. We aim to achieve this through our core principles of; co-construction, communicability, trustworthiness, timeliness, supporting an inter-disciplinary vision, and focusing on impact, outcome and “value”. There are many examples of CREW's work throughout this report, and on behalf of the team and all research partners, we are proud to highlight what has been achieved, and we hope you find it of interest.
CREW Programme Report 2016-2022
CREW is pleased to present this Programme Report (2016-2022) for the Centre of Expertise for Waters.
Water is at the heart of Scottish life - socially, environmentally, and in economic terms as a sector in its own right, and as a critical resource in Scotland's manufacturing, agriculture, food and drink, tourism and energy sectors. Scotland's Hydro Nation agenda supports the Scottish Government's vision as a world leader in the sustainable management of water. To deliver that vision we must ensure that the respected knowledge generated by research underpins our future. This ambition is central to CREW's values. Our underlying ethos has, and will continue to be, to deliver the right information to the right people at the right time, and in the right way.
Over the last six years, and as highlighted in this Programme Report, CREW has delivered more than 105 projects in the process of meeting its objectives of supporting policy and practice, and in delivering relevant outputs. We aim to achieve this through our core principles of; co-construction, communicability, trustworthiness, timeliness, supporting an inter-disciplinary vision, and focusing on impact, outcome and “value”. There are many examples of CREW's work throughout this report, and on behalf of the team and all research partners, we are proud to highlight what has been achieved, and we hope you find it of interest.
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