Held under the auspices of the UNESCO Chair in Water Sciences and the Birmingham Water Council (weblink), our World Water Day activities focused on the newest developments in water science, policies and industries.
Opening the event was Professor Tim Softley the Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Research and Knowledge Transfer. He expressed his pleasure at hosting this multidisciplinary and important international event to solve the great challenges we all face and conduct “Research that matters”. Professor Softley went on to explain how the University has a very long history in water research, with recent investments made in Ecolab (weblink) and BIFoR facilities and the Institute for Global Innovation, adopting the theme of ‘Wicked Water Challenges.’
Professor David Hannah was next to take the stage, in his role as UNESCO Chair in Water Science, with an introduction and brief overview of how the UNESCO hydrological programme operates and its role in promoting collaborations and encouraging everyone to work together in terms of pioneering approaches to solve ‘Wicked Water Problems’.
Birmingham was honoured to have Professor Jeff McDonnell and Professor Yan Zheng attend as guest overseas speakers. Professor McDonnell for the Global Institute for Water Security from the University of Sasktchwan gave an enlightening account of his work on hillslopes and watersheds: tracking raindrops for water security, evidencing the basic processes of how hillslopes and small catchments store and release water. Professor Yan Zheng from the Southern University of Science and Technology (SUSTech) took a more water quality perspective, focusing on ‘Poison from Nature’ highlighting the effects from Arsenic Mitigation.
Excellent examples of how water problems are truly multidisciplinary challenges were highlighted by speakers Dr Semira Manaseki-Holland from the Institute of Applied Health and Professor Nigel Cassidy Head of Civil Engineering at the University,. Dr Manaseki-Holland focused on how health and water are linked intricately, while Professor Cassidy considered the need for adding nature to engineering solutions to water problems.
Professor Glenn Watts, the Deputy Research Director for the Environment Agency concluded the day’s events with an insight on working with water in nature and how it helps us manage the environment. His talk also highlighted the opportunities and challenges in working across the science-policy interface.
World Water Day is just one of the ways the University is dedicated to promoting research on water.