Hydro Nation: annual report 2022

International – reaching out to the world

The Hydro Nation Strategy outlines our intent to deploy the potential of Scotland's knowledge and innovation in a global context. Hydro Nation International (HNI) describes our activity to co-ordinate and harness a range of international water-related activities across Scottish public bodies, universities and non-Governmental organisations that contribute not only to the Hydro Nation agenda but also to the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals; in particular Sustainable Development Goal 6 (Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all by 2030). Activities completed as part of this agenda in 2022 include:

Malawi Scotland Regulatory Partnership (MSRP)

The MSRP is continuing to offer peer-to-peer support and capacity building to colleagues in Malawi's two environmental regulators - the National Water Resources Authority (NWRA) and Malawi Environment Protection Agency (MEPA).

Supported by the Scottish Government through the Hydro Nation International Centre (HNIC), the partnership welcomes multi-sectoral collaboration from across the Hydro Nation family, and beyond, bringing additional expertise to match with the needs of the NWRA and MEPA as both take steps towards becoming fully operational.

In 2021-2022, the partnership included on-going collaboration with the James Hutton Institute (JHI), Hydro Nation Scholars and Water Witness International (WWI) in Scotland, and Malawi-based NGO BASEflow working closely with BAWI consultants. The ability to assemble a collaboration of this kind, enabled by Hydro Nation, continues to offer a valuable and effective vehicle for supporting fellow institutions from other countries.

During the year, the MSRP delivered deliver corporate governance support to the NWRA and MEPA, but also supported the development of information and evidence relevant to the regulators through increased engagement with the Ministry of Water and Sanitation. This included a national assessment of Malawi's groundwater monitoring network and forward planning to secure investment in improved national monitoring infrastructure.

The model of delivery continued to be influenced by a post-covid and Net-Zero world, with a significant proportion of work being led by Malawi partners or through remote engagement. The MSRP will continually review this model of delivery to ensure it pursues innovative and effective ways to continue to support Malawi in the most carbon efficient manner.

Scotland's Global Partnership for Knowledge and Expertise in Water and Climate (SPARKE)

As part of a Scottish National Party 2021 Manifesto Scotland's Future, Scotland's Choices, a pledge was established to;

"….create new peer-to-peer partnerships between Scotland's Centre of Expertise for Climate Change, Water & Flooding and organisations in the Global South, sharing experience and data towards tackling these shared challenges"

To support the fulfilment of this pledge, the HNIC was awarded a project which commenced in Autumn 2022. Scotland's Global Partnership for Knowledge and Expertise in Water and Climate, or 'SPARKE', will work in partnership with a wide range of global stakeholders in the water environment to share knowledge and experience of science-policy exchange. Throughout the evolution of the project, it will work with partners in Malawi and India to identify data as well as capacity and skills needs to co-construct a series of activities that make use of peer-to-peer approaches for addressing these needs. This aim is underpinned by Scotland's new international development principles of in-country led, demand-driven partnership working. The HNIC is an ideal partner to host SPARKE because of its strengths and experience in brokering science policy exchange.

Supporting water reform in New Zealand

The Water Industry Commission for Scotland's (WICS) work within New Zealand started with a project for two water and sewerage companies; Wellington Water and Watercare (which provides services across Auckland). WICS analysed the performance of the two companies and helped them better understand their costs, the potential for efficiencies, and future investment needs.

The success of this initial project led to further work with Watercare, with WICS providing regulatory support and helping the company put in place the same processes that are used to regulate Scottish Water. These changes should help Watercare provide better value for its customers and be better prepared for Three Waters Reform.

More recently WICS has supported New Zealand's Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) by undertaking a strategic analysis and estimation of the economic benefits from aggregating water service delivery entities in the country. New Zealanders were already experiencing the consequences of underinvestment in their water infrastructure, with several high-profile infrastructure failures in recent years. Part of the problem was a lack of good quality information on the state of that infrastructure and future investment requirements.

As part of the project, WICS helped 49 separate councils or other entities that are responsible for delivering water and sewerage services, to complete an extensive 'Request for Information'. Using the detailed data from these submissions WICS carried out complex economic modelling; benchmarked current operating costs and levels of service to those of the leading companies in Great Britain; and modelled the scope for improving the sector's efficiency.

As well as presenting its analysis to the DIA, WICS gave individual feedback to the councils it had worked with. WICS's final report was submitted to the DIA in May 2021, and the New Zealand government is now progressing the programme of reform, with WICS's CEO continuing to provide strategic advice to the reform programme's steering group.