Investigating the impact of climate change on river water quality to secure future water supplies

This exciting PhD project, in collaboration with Northumbrian Water, will investigate the impact of climate change on river water quality, the implications this will have for water treatment infrastructure, and novel engineering interventions for management of such impacts. A specific focus for the research will be water treatment infrastructure resilience to changes in freshwater sulphate concentrations; freshwater sulphate concentrations have increased in recent decades, and these problems are particularly evident in former mining catchments, including in north-east England.

The project will involve (1) reviewing regional / national trends in freshwater sulphate concentration to identify water infrastructure at potential risk, now and in the future, (2) quantifying current (point and diffuse) sources of sulphate in legacy coal mine catchments, (3) projecting future riverine sulphate concentration and flux using NU's SHETRAN modelling software, (3) trialling innovative, catchment-based management approaches to sulphate source control, and water treatment plant-based technologies for sulphate attenuation.

The project will involve close working with Northumbrian Water, as well as the Newcastle University academic supervisors. Research will be conducted at national, regional and local scales. Fieldwork (water quality and hydrology) will focus on the River Wear, NE England, with associated analysis work in the University's well-equipped labs. The project will involve numerical modelling work, and some prior knowledge in this area would be advantageous.