Hydro Nation: annual report 2022

Knowledge sharing and capacity building activity

Hydro Nation Scholars

In the reporting year 2021-2022, 26 Hydro Nation Scholars were underway at nine Scottish Universities: Dundee, St. Andrew's, Edinburgh, Stirling, Glasgow Caledonian, Aberdeen, Robert Gordon, Highlands and Islands, and Strathclyde. The current scholars come from 12 different countries, bringing to the programme a rich diversity of cultures and perspectives, skills, and research experiences. Of these active scholars, five successfully submitted their theses and defended their VIVA during this period, thus joining the Hydro Nation Alumni Association, bringing the total number of alumni to 19.

The most recent alumni include:

• Dr Kathleen Stosch (University of Stirling), with the project "Building Resilience to Respond to Future Environmental Change Across Scottish Catchments"
• Dr Jonathan Fletcher (University of Stirling), with the project "Optimising Multi-Pollutant Phytoremediation Strategies to Sustainably Improve Raw Water Quality"
• Dr Sughayshinie Samba Sibam (University of Aberdeen) with the project "Epidemiology of Private Drinking Water Supplies in Scotland"
• Dr Victoria Porley (University of Edinburgh) with the project "Water Purification in Rural India Using Sunlight and Low-Cost Materials"
• Dr Craig McDougall (University of Stirling) with the project "The Role of Scotland's Inland Waters in Promoting Blue-Health of Rural Communities"

Additionally, the Hydro Nation Scholars Programme welcomed six new scholars with the 2021 cohort, for a total of 40 awards granted since the start of the programme and by the end of this reporting period. Further details on the scholars are available at Annex B.

World Water Day – 22 March 2022

On March 22^nd 2022, the Hydro Nation International Centre hosted Scotland's World Water Day 2022, funded by the Scottish Government. The event provided a forum for water professionals, researchers, policymakers, regulators, and the wider community, to share knowledge and learn from recent projects to reduce carbon emissions following COP26, build resilience to climate change and benefit from Scotland's water resources. Over 100 delegates attended in-person and over 400 joined the live stream.

The event was structured around key themes of:

1) health and wellbeing,

2) Scotland's water sector route map to net zero,

3) working with communities for better water infrastructure and

4) engaging with youth to promote water sustainability.

The themes were explored through presentations, round table discussions and a poster exhibition and curated for accessibility on the HNIC website.

Scotland's WWD 2022 galvanized the sector to share knowledge and tackle the challenges ahead towards net zero in 2040. A short video to celebrate the event was posted on social media and a WWD22%20policy%20brief_FINAL.docx">policy note was prepared to highlight the key messages of the day.

Alliance for Water Stewardship

The Scottish Government has supported the first six editions of the Alliance for Water Stewardship (AWS) Global Water Stewardship Forum in Edinburgh and online, from 2016 to 2022. The Forum is attended by a range of stakeholders, all of whom share a common goal of advancing water stewardship globally through local site- and catchment-based activity.

The Sixth AWS Global Water Stewardship Forum took place at Dynamic Earth in Edinburgh from 17-19 May 2022, including over 300 registered delegates, both in-person and online, representing over 130 organisations worldwide. Participants unite behind the shared definition of water stewardship and the International Water Stewardship Standard (AWS Standard) as the globally applicable framework for robust and verifiable water stewardship. The Forum is also an important space for water stewardship practitioners to come together to collaborate on new projects and opportunities globally. It provides a place where the private sector, development finance institutions, civil society organisations and public institutions can exchange ideas and collaborate on international projects.

The Global Water Stewardship Forum in Scotland supports the Hydro Nation agenda through demonstrating Scotland's continued commitment to leading global water management and governance expertise. Since the AWS Forum, Diageo certified their Cameronbridge distillery, building on the certification of 11 Speyside distilleries in 2021. These are the first distilleries in the world to achieve AWS certification. It is expected that this will leverage additional commitments to the AWS Standard in Scotland. The Scottish Government's ongoing support for the Forum sends a clear signal around the world that Scotland is not only increasing national expertise in water, but also strengthening global efforts to improve water management and governance.

Centre of Expertise for Waters

The Centre of Expertise for Waters (CREW) continues to support the Scottish Government, and delivery partners, to inform and steer water policy, by delivering objective and robust research and expert opinion. The Centre has contributed to the development of a range of Scottish/UK/EU policies, and implementation strategies, and continues to serve Scotland's legislative Hydro Nation agenda.

In 2022 the Centre delivered a portfolio of projects to support the immediacy and magnitude of the challenges faced from climate change. Projects focused on:

• mitigating the impacts of climate change on freshwater ecosystems in terms of habitat
• evidence to support water resource management
• deterioration in water quality
• climate risks to water resources
• how to effectively communicate flood risk

The Centre also contributed to debates on how catchments and infrastructure should be managed for carbon reduction and ultimately net zero emissions.

Issues in connection with the management of wastewater in rural areas continues to be a top priority as recognised in the "Strategic Plans of Scottish Water and SEPA (Water Supply and Waste Water Sector Plan)". CREW commissioned a number of projects that address research needs - notably an International policy review on small sewage systems, and policy brief providing an overview of the types of barriers which inhibit effective engagement with private sewerage users.

State of the art management measures to reduce diffuse pollution from agricultural sources were highlighted in two reports on a) sustainable methods of slurry application and the implications for water quality and b) better buffer design, placement and management.

Drawing on networks and partnerships established in 2020-21, CREW continued efforts to coordinate research in support of the National surveillance programme for Covid-19 RNA in wastewater, acting as a foci for Scottish and UK partners to share updates on wastewater based epidemiology (WBE) as the pandemic evolved. CREW commissioned the University of Edinburgh to develop methods for detecting new variants of SARS-COV-2 in wastewater, along with a dashboard to COVID-Wastewater-Scotland">capture analytical protocols and maximise access to project bioinformation data. Throughout the project, interviews with the community of practice and academics led to a review of the formation and operation of the SARS-CoV-2 wastewater testing programme and key lessons to inform future urgent responses to health and environmental crises.