Overview

We analyse water resource systems to estimate risks to water supplies and devise robust strategies for adapting to climate change. We have pioneered risk-based approaches to defining and managing water security. We particularly focus upon the effects of hydrological variability, spatial dependence and non-stationarity. We integrate this climatological and hydrological understanding with simulation models of reservoirs, transfers and water use. We develop optimization methods to navigate trade-offs between competing goals for water resource systems. We model the economic impacts of droughts and water scarcity. We have developed the only large-scale water resources simulation model of all of England and Wales, which is now used by the Environment Agency and Ofwat to appraise strategic water resources options. Our expertise extends from the Thames river basin to water security hotspots worldwide, especially the Eastern Nile basin.