Unit name | Water Governance and Management |
---|---|
Unit code | GEOG30024 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | H/6 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
Unit director | Dr. Coxon |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
GEOG25010 Spatial Modelling 2 |
Co-requisites |
None. |
School/department | School of Geographical Sciences |
Faculty | Faculty of Science |
This unit will explore and understand the numerous social and hydrological dynamics that govern water resources in the 21st century. All uses of water both indirectly and directly impact how others can use water resources within a catchment; changing hydrologies may lead to new regimes of winners and losers; and new policy frameworks may result in unforeseen consequences. As Jamie Linton (2010: 3) has argued, “water is what you make of it.”
With a strong emphasis on practical study, this Unit explores and unpacks the hydrological, climatic, political and policy, and socioeconomic factors present in contemporary water management. It is taught by members of staff from both physical and human geography and, as a result, provides an interdisciplinary perspective - with topics covered including:
This interdisciplinary character will also take the form of staff giving joint-lectures, detailing the social and physical approaches to certain challenges and nuances in contemporary water politics. In addition, guest speakers from industry and regulation will provide practical insights into how the concepts taught are applied in practice.
Students will gain an overview of the interests and motivations present in contemporary water policy-making in England and Wales. They will directly engage with Water Resources Management plans (WRMPs) developed by water companies, run hydrological models and develop their own socioeconomic scenarios for future patterns of water demand.
Upon successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
The following transferable skills are developed in this Unit:
The unit will be taught through a blended combination of online and, if possible, in-person teaching, including
(40%) (Individual, Summative) Three page critique of a water company's Water Resource Management Plan [ILOs 1, 3]
(60%) (Individual, Summative) 2,500-word write-up of day-long decision-making scenario workshop. [ILOs 2-3]
The following resources are an example of the material that will be covered in reading throughout the course:
Essential
Lautze, J. (2014). Key concepts in water resource management: A review and critical evaluation. Abingdon: Routledge Earthscan.
Van Loon, A., Gleeson, T., Clark, J. et al. (2016), Drought in the Anthropocene. Nature Geosci 9, 89–91 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo2646
Wessex Water (2019), Final water resources management plan, https://www.wessexwater.co.uk/environment/water-resources/management-plan
Recommended
Barnes, J. (2014). Cultivating the Nile: The everyday politics of water in Egypt. Durham, N.C.: Duke University Press.
Martin-Ortega, J.; Ferrier, R.C.; Gordon, I.J.; & Khan, S. (2018). Water ecosystem services: A global perspective. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press [OPEN ACCESS].
Wada, Y., et al (2017), Human–water interface in hydrological modelling: current status and future directions, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 4169–4193, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-4169-2017.
Warner, J.; Wester, P.; & Bolding, A. (2008). Going with the flow: river basins as the natural units for water management?. Water Policy; 10 (S2): 121–138.