Water & Wastewater Treatment Magazine
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www.wwtonline.co.uk | WWT | JANUARY 2018 | 27 Uncovering hidden climate signals to improve water resource management Making use of research into long-term weather patterns could help water utilities predict their water resource needs for years to come smarter investment decisions. Such devel- opments may provide us with a glimpse of water resource availability years or decades into the future. Cycles in climate, and their effects on weather, are fairly common across the globe. The most famous of these cycles is probably the El Nino Southern Oscilla- tion. An understanding of this 2-3 year cycle provides an element of foresight for affected water resources managers in the Southern Hemisphere. Despite its sometimes devastating effects in Australia and Peru, the influence of El Nino rarely stretches to our latitudes and, therefore, has a minimal impact on UK weather and water resources. The UK does however have its own version of El Nino: the less interestingly-named North Atlantic Oscil- lation (NAO). This phenomenon, com- prised of a see-saw of pressure between Iceland and the Azores, tends to show a R esilience is high on the water resource industry's agenda. As the first batch of Water Resource Man- agement Plans now draws to its comple- tion, consultants, regulators, and water companies are focusing on future-proof- ing now more than ever. More specifi- cally, climate change adaptation is at the forefront of challenges being addressed by Ofwat's 'Water 2020: our regulatory ap- proach for water and wastewater services' report. As a hydroclimatologist, it is en- couraging to see the industry taking steps to ingrain an understanding of climate uncertainty at a business planning level. There is a chance, however, in this context that 'climate' may become a nega- tive word: something to be managed, and something that poses a risk to customers and businesses. While the industry is focused on the challenges that long-term shi"s in climate pose, new research into shorter-term cycles in climate may allow us to build better resilience and to make The knowledge: water resource management WILLIAM RUST RESEARCHER, HYDROCLIMATOLOGY CRANFIELD UNIVERSITY