Scotland the Hydro Nation: annual report 2017

Hydro Nation– Knowledge: Expanding Perspectives

2 new scholars will join the Hydro Nation Scholars Programme ( HNSP) at the start of this academic year bringing the total number of scholars to 16

• Sughayshinie Samba Sibam, Aberdeen - "Epidemiology of Private Drinking Water Supplies in Scotland
• Lucille Groult, Dundee - "Socio-Legal Responses to the Challenges of Contaminants of Emerging Concern".

Our first cohort of Scholars have already, or are due to complete their studies in the coming few months - Christopher Schultz, Nazli Koseoglu, Ruby Moynihan, and Juan Carlos Sanchez).

The themes for 2018 Projects, agreed by the HNSP Executive Group and which have been included in the call for projects released in July 2017 are:

• Opportunities for creating value in the water sector through a circular economy approach.

• Adaptive engineering solutions to water abstraction and control for developing countries.

• Water management in the food and drink industry.

• Innovative monitoring and financial approaches for the improved maintenance of water infrastructure assets.

• Assessing the future water landscape of Scotland.

• Achieving regulatory compliance with low-cost, low-impact rural provision solutions.

Knowledge Sharing and Capacity Building Activity

The Water Industry Commission Scotland ( WICS) is working with the EU Commission to strengthen water regulation in Europe by supporting the National Regulator for Public Services for Romania. WICS has facilitated learning opportunities and study visits between the two regulatory offices. Alongside the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, WICS has delivered a bespoke workshop on economic regulation to the Georgian National Water Regulatory Commission.

WICS is sharing its knowledge in economic regulation and learning from other regulators within the European Water Regulators Network ( WAREG). WICS has given presentations on its experience on incentive based regulation and customer engagement.

Further afield, WICS has supported South Australian Water and the Essential Services Commission of South Australia ( ESCOSA) in developing a customer engagement model by sharing lessons learnt during the 2015-21 Strategic Review of Charges. WICS is also supporting the work of the OECD Water Governance Initiative and is a member and active contributor to the OECD's Network of Economic Regulators ( NER). Alan Sutherland, Chief Executive of WICS, participated in an OECD NER sponsored mission to conduct a peer review of Mexico's energy regulated sector.