Environmental Management

Tthe world's first professor of environmental water management has been appointed by a United Kingdom university to develop better ways in which nations can safeguard and improve the quality
of their water.

Professor Roger Falconer's task leading the newly created environmental water management unit at the University of Wales Cardiff is to work closely with other experts and agencies worldwide to solve
and prevent potentially serious waterborne problems linked with floods, coastal erosion, pollution and other factors.

His priorities are to help different countries research and develop their own schemes to improve water management and to halt the hastening global decline in water quality, that he sees as one of the
most serious long-term threats to man's successful survival.

As an acknowledged world expert on designing and using computer models to predict and identify harmful effects of urbanisation and industry on the quality of water in rivers, reservoirs and
estuaries, Professor Falconer's role brings him into close proximity with one of the most dynamic tidal areas in the world, the Severn estuary.

This funnel-shaped physical feature flowing past the seaport of Cardiff is swept by a fast-moving, powerful tidal pattern with the second highest range in the world. This provides a unique living
laboratory in which the team can develop advanced techniques to understand and improve water-related problems worldwide.

"This estuary's vigorous and fast-changing tidal flow combines with unusually varied mixing of saline and fresh water which causes complex stratified water conditions,'' explains Professor Falconer.

"Add to that the significant influences of wind, variations of rainfall and the effects of the earth's rotation, and its overall characteristics are challenging in the extreme to model. Our research
will be of significant benefit not just to this part of Britain but to a much wider range of areas where water quality is in decline. The Severn estuary's flooding effects on low-lying coastal land
and the subsequent process of natural land-drying are providing valuable insights into problems such as the effects of draining mangrove swamps in tropical regions. Mangroves are disappearing quickly
ú often with negative results ú as developing nations with fast-growing populations develop and urbanise more and more of their coastline. As mangroves disappear so do the many nutrients they
provide, which means fish stocks become seriously depleted. This in turn affects the main source of food for the local people who often rely entirely on the sea for their way of life. Depletion of
mangroves needs to be managed very carefully with the maximum consideration for the environment and with minimum effect on aquatic life.''

Professor Falconer is involved with water management schemes in l7 countries, learning about successful efforts to evolve water management programmes and advising on ways to develop and apply
improvements.

Typical is his close liaison with prominent experts in the effects of serious flash-flooding and the transport of pollution-bearing sediments in India and China, creating a two-way traffic of
knowledge and experience crucial to the success of water-management efforts in these and many other countries.

This cross-border cooperation is also helping the Cardiff team to refine and develop a hydraulic computer model that can be applied to coastal or estuarine problems anywhere in the world.

This model, known as Depth Integrated Velocities And Solute Transport (Divast), considers pollution factors such as sewage, heavy metals, thermal discharges and industrial waste. It forecasts whether
these elements will be dispersed naturally and harmlessly or will cause environmental damage.

Divast, based on a two-dimensional map of a given coastal or estuarine location, is used in more than 80 commercial and industrial projects worldwide.

Typical of its specific uses is to establish the ideal positioning of the seaward end of outfall pipes. If the outfall pipe is too long, pumping becomes more expensive, while too short a length can
endanger the coastline and inshore aquatic life. Divast can determine the ideal point for the outfall to ensure pollution is dispersed economically and effectively.

The computer model can also be used to predict the effects of water contamination by heavy metals, a worsening problem in many parts of the world where expanding industry and a relative lack of
environmental controls combine to cause problems with pollutants such as zinc, cadmium, mercury and arsenic, all of which are transported in a river's sediments.

Professor Falconer's appointment will enable water engineers, scientists and planners to address a range of difficult environmental water-management problems. These include not only the quality of
water in our seas, rivers and lakes but also problems of coastal erosion, management of floodplains and wetlands, accurate real-time forecasting of floods, the design of water-treatment facilities
and storm-water overflows, risk analysis and disinfection processes to minimise public health risks.