Research Funding cycle: 2022-27
Environmentally effective and cost-efficient sediment management at impoundments
Impoundments on rivers are often critical for purposes such as power generation and water supply yet they can also reduce or prevent the natural movement of sediment downstream. Accumulation of sediment behind an impoundment can pose a risk to its intended use and result in adverse ecological consequences downstream due to sediment not being naturally replenished. This project developed initiatives to raise awareness of the commercial and environmental risks associated with sediment discontinuity caused by impoundments.
Knowledge exchange activities with the hydropower community enabled the production of a video and infographic to communicate key messages. A hydropower scheme permit application guidance framework was also developed to assist both operators and regulators. Cost-benefit analysis evaluated the environmental and commercial effectiveness of various catchment sediment management options. Riparian planting and peatland restoration delivered a positive benefit in all cost-benefit scenarios, and in most scenarios, catchment-scale tree planting also generated positive benefits.
SEPA and NatureScot have key leadership roles in disseminating these findings to the hydropower community and in managing rivers more broadly. The project also demonstrated a need within the hydropower community for further knowledge exchange activities which would likely maintain or improve river catchment health and reduce commercial risk.
Project outputs
Full length video: Securing Scotland's Energy Future: Sediment Management in Hydropower
CD2024_03 Scottish One Health AMR Register (SOHAR): Update to support and underpin UK AMR NAP 2024-2029 – Workstream 6 (Scotland) activities
Type of project: Call Down
Project Status: Project in procurement.
Overview: This Call Down project aims to refresh and update the existing Scottish One Health AMR Register to: encompass developments in the AMR research landscape over the last 3 years, taking into consideration relevant developments at pertinent levels; identify key priorities for development and progression of the register, such as refinement of purpose and potential utilisation for policymakers, practitioners, the public and other stakeholders, and showcase existing and ongoing work and collaborations in Scotland as well as collaborations with partners outside Scotland, taking into consideration both research and relevant policy developments.
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Increasing flood resilience: residential and community runoff retention solutions
In recent years there has been an increased awareness of the need to address surface water runoff in urban environments. This includes understanding where flood risks may arise, increase, or change in the future due to climate change and increased urban creep, the increased conversion of gardens and other vegetated areas which help to soak up rain. To support resilient surface water management in urban environments, the identification, efficacy, cost effectiveness and prioritisation of implementable flood risk management solutions is essential.
This project evaluated and compared the cost and effectiveness of residential and community property rainwater runoff source control solutions to increase flood resilience. Source control Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) manage water at or near its source, in order to slow down or stop the water entering the drainage system.
The project undertook a literature review, case study reviews and cost benefit analysis to consider the following key issues:
- What are the multiple benefits of source control SuDS and suitability for different urban land types?
- What are the barriers to adopting these solutions at both residential and community property level?
- What are the opportunities and recommendations for overcoming these barriers?
Project Outputs
Understanding the relationship between water scarcity and land use in private water supply catchments – a review
This project aimed to compile an evidence base and offer recommendations informing policy and practice regarding how land use changes may impact the amount of water available to private water supplies (PWS). The focus was on the impacts to water availability from emerging land use trends of tree planting (afforestation and agroforestry) and wind farm development in Scotland.
The project involved a review of the available scientific evidence and a review of international PWS policies and practices considering PWS in relation to tree planting and wind farm development, and stakeholder engagement. Key findings included that tree planting effects on water availability vary widely based on a complex set of inter-related factors, such as timing, spatial orientation, extent of planting, tree species, and landscape characteristics, including previous land use. Agroforestry effects are generally smaller than for afforestation, but they are more sensitive to specific planting details. Wind farm effects also depend on landscape factors and specific characteristics like type, number, and density of turbines, with limited research available for Scottish landscapes.
The key findings of the project emphasize the need for better data, data availability, integrated policies, and stakeholder engagement to prevent negative impacts on PWS amidst changing land use change trends.
Previous project page
PFAS in drinking water supplies: A review of source, pathway, and fate for selected compounds
PFAS are a large group of synthetic chemicals with many industrial and domestic applications. In Scotland, a drinking water standard of 0.1 µg/l for the sum of 20 PFAS substances was introduced in January 2023.
Many different PFAS may be present in Scotland due to import and use. Next to PFAS coming from local pollution sources such as landfills, wastewater, and industry uses, they can also be transported through the air over long distances and be brought to land from the ocean on sea spray aerosols. They can reach freshwater directly or move through soils to groundwater and surface water. Which PFAS are found (and relative mixtures) can give an indication where they originate from.
Identifying potential sources of PFAS pollution and analysing available PFAS concentration data helped to better understand where PFAS may be found in Scotland. Higher risk for PFAS pollution was identified for areas in the Northeast, Central belt, and South of Scotland due to industrial activity and higher population densities, but also for some regions on the West coast. Although measured concentrations of PFAS currently remain well below the drinking water standard, the findings can support a systematic monitoring of higher risk areas to ascertain PFAS pollution in the Scottish environment.
Assessing the impact of forestry on water quality in Scotland: A review of modelling capabilities
Commercial forestry operations potentially exert various influences on water quality, with impacts varying depending on the type of forestry operations and their interactions with local environmental conditions. Although the relative impacts of commercial forest activities to water are relatively small (compared to other land-uses), localised impacts on water quality can be significant and the existing literature highlights a critical gap in the connection between water quality and forest management, especially with regards to interactions between multiple environmental parameters and forestry activities. This project aimed to assess suitability of existing models in predicting these impacts. This study noted that although existing models are valuable for assessing forestry impacts, many do not fully integrate water quality considerations and forestry activities as inputs. The project findings highlight a gap in data availability as well as modelling efforts to couple water quality dynamics with forestry operations.
Assessing the socio-economic impacts of soil degradation on Scotland’s water environment
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.
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Project Outputs
Future Predictions of Water Scarcity in Scotland: Impacts to Distilleries and Agricultural Abstractors
Scotland’s climate is changing, and we expect to see further changes in seasonal precipitation patterns that may increase the frequency and severity of water scarcity conditions, including droughts. Drought is a prolonged period of abnormally low rainfall, leading to water scarcity and environmental stress (formally defined in Scotland as when river water levels are less than 5% of their normal flows, for more than 30 days). Overall, droughts are predicted to increase particularly in the eastern parts of Scotland. These changes are likely to affect water users in these regions, particularly agriculture (livestock, arable and horticulture) and the distilling sector.
The aim of this project was to provide summaries of the future predictions of water scarcity in Scotland and the impacts this may have, tailored to three groups of abstractors: crop producers, livestock producers and distilleries. The project summarised evidence on changes to the availability of surface waters and groundwaters for abstraction; as well as changes to climatic water balance for rainfed farming systems. This evidence was then put in the context of how the water resources are being used by the three groups and how future water scarcity may impact the sector.
The evidence review highlighted that there is likely to be overall deficit in climate-water balance during the summer months in eastern Scotland, with some uncertainty about how the shoulder months of April and September will be affected; that the number and duration of surface water drought events are likely to double by the middle of the century; and that there are questions about the resilience of groundwater supplies, particularly in areas with low storage and decreasing potential recharge. Overall, our farmers and distillers focus group participants were aware of water scarcity as a business risk. The irrigated crop sector and the distillery sector have invested in technological solutions, such as efficient irrigation systems, offline irrigation lagoons and thermal vapour compressing, whereas the rainfed farming systems identified fewer adaptation options. Several barriers to wider uptake of adaptation options were identified. Recommendations are provided, including the need for increased data on actual water used by abstractors, alongside expanding the monitoring and analysis of groundwater resources, to improve our understanding of the different dimensions of water scarcity; and ways to overcome barriers to uptake of the available adaptation responses.
Previous Project Page
Following this project two videos were produced. This footage is provided with thanks by The Scottish Farm Advisory Service, who create and provide information and resources aimed at increasing the profitability and sustainability of farms and crofts across Scotland. To find out more, visit www.FAS.scot
- Water Availability Part 1, Scottish Agriculture - Water Availability Part 1 - Scottish Agriculture (youtube.com)
- Water Availability Part 2, Farmer Feedback - Water Availability Part 2 - Farmer Feedback (youtube.com)
Project Outputs
CRW2023_05 Future Predictions of Water Scarcity - Main Report and Appendices- CRW2023_05 Future Predictions of Water Scarcity - Policy Brief
- CRW2023_05 Future Predictions of Water Scarcity - Project Summary
- CRW2023_05 Arable Infographic
- CRW2023_05 Horticultural Infographic
- CRW2023_05 Intensive Livestock Infographic
- CRW2023_05 Extensive Livestock Infographic
- CRW2023_05 Distillery Infographic
Emerging Contaminants: Informing Scotland’s strategic monitoring and policy approaches on substances of increasing concern
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.
Appendix IV – Emerging Contaminants MASTER Database - available seperately on request.
Resilience to Fluvial Flooding: Knowns and Unknowns to Recommendations for Management
In this Science Policy Fellowship, the research team aimed to critique what we know and don’t know about fluvial flood risk, resilience and management. The research team used the epistemological construct of “known knowns, known unknowns and unknown unknowns” to assess both scientific and stakeholder knowledge. The team conducted a Rapid Evidence Assessment utilising the power of AI to synthesise thousands of papers and to produce network visualisations of keywords and conducted a workshop with key stakeholders. Four themes emerged; 1) Climate Change; 2) Flood Generating Hydrology; 3) Natural Flood Management; and 4) Stakeholder Engagement.
The research team's specific recommendations include:
- Mainstream and upscale NFM implementation, supported by monitoring and maintenance. Ensure NFM is assessed holistically for use alongside hard engineered solutions.
- Contextualize flood management decisions to take into account hydrological complexity, non-linearity, and the unique geography of each catchment.
- Shift to adaptive planning, to account for future uncertainty associated with climate change, including in terms of mindset, economic appraisal, and funding mechanisms.
- Encourage community co-creation of flood management for place-based, socially accepted policies, relating to standard of protection, risk perception, and balance of options.
- Address the many gaps in our knowledge, highlighted by scientific confidence assessments and Unknown Unknowns, which need future research.
CREW Science Policy Fellowships
This project is part of CREW's Science Policy Fellowship workstream which intends to support evidence-based decisions by providing the opportunity for Scotland’s research community to advocate for critical science that addresses upcoming water-related policy, regulatory and/or industry needs. You can read more about CREW Science Policy Fellowships here.
CREW commissioned three Science Policy Fellowships which are aligned to, and support, the development of Scotland’s first Flood Resilience Strategy. Read more about the two other projects here:
Building Public Health Resilience to Fluvial Flooding in Scotland
Policy to Preparedness: Flood Policy and Community Engagement
You can read more about other engagement activity, led by Sniffer working closely with Scottish Flood Forum and ClimatexChange, to support the development of Scotland's first Flood Resileince Strategy here.
Project Outputs (please scroll down for written outputs)
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