Water sustains our lives but we fail to give it the value it deserves
Professor Andrew Tyler is the Scotland Hydro Nation Chair at the University of Stirling
As a society, we have been shaped by our environment and the resources that it has provided to support our development and economic growth.
Water is a valued resource that we all depend on. But all too often, water is taken for granted. Its absence or low priority within strategic thinking, planning and policy means opportunities to drive innovation, improve practice and optimise investment for the benefit of all are frequently missed.
Today, Sunday, Glasgow will host the International Water Association World Water Congress and Exhibition, bringing water experts from across the world to the banks of the Clyde.
And it comes as we face one of the biggest challenges of our time. Because the climate is now exacerbating the pressures we place on our water.
In February 2024, the global average air temperature had exceeded 1.5C over pre-industrial values continuously for the first time on record.
We are experiencing the changing climate, largely through extreme hydrological events such floods and droughts, and the increasing unpredictability of our global hydrological cycle now necessitates that we prepare for a 2C warming world by 2050.
Floods and droughts are one of the most significant hazards facing society in terms of climate change impacts and are not unique to any single country or region.
At the same time, floods and droughts interact with complex natural and engineered systems causing wide-ranging impacts on society, the economy and the water environment.
Emerging and legacy pollution, often described as the third global environmental crisis, is driving a strategic national imperative to mitigate the environmental damage arising from combined sewer overflow (CSO) and losses from diffuse sources, such as farmland
Taking this CSO challenge alone, a recent Stantec report costed the complete separation of storm water from wastewater at between £350 billion to £600 billion for England alone.
Despite the recognition of a rapidly changing hydroclimatic system, the gap between understanding the risks facing society now and the future, and the climate adaptation response being delivered, is widening.
We therefore need to disrupt the status quo of water management and look for within catchment, whole system solutions, and move away from our focus on the end of the pipeline, to ultimately change our relationship with water.
Through the Scotland Hydro Nation Chair, based at the University of Stirling and funded by Scottish Water through the Scottish Funding Council, efforts are already underway to cut emissions from infrastructure and wastewater treatment, recover valuable resources such as energy and create a greener, more circular economy that benefits communities, businesses and the natural environment.
The health of Scotland’s waterways cannot be taken for granted. From agricultural pollution and sewage discharges to industrial contamination, pollution associated with past practices such as mining, to the impacts of energy development, our rivers, lochs and coastal waters face mounting pressures.
Couple this with the demands of a growing, ageing and mobile population and these challenges threaten one of our most valuable natural assets and underline the need for smarter, more sustainable water management.
Water sustains every aspect of our lives, but we still fail to give it the value it deserves. At a time when climate change is placing unprecedented pressure on water resources, outdated practices are no longer fit for purpose.
Just as society has moved beyond the throwaway mentality that filled our landfills, we must also move beyond a system that simply pours such a valuable resource away.
Professor Andrew Tyler is the Scotland Hydro Nation Chair at the University of Stirling
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.