Water Management in Cold Climates

Water resources management, water supply and wastewater treatment have special challenges in the High North due to the natural climatic conditions. Frozen water resources, highly variable surface overflows and influents to treatment utilities, need to build larger treatment infrastructure and challenges in achieving treatment targets due to retarded efficiencies in winters are examples of such challenges. The challenges will be even more severe with Climate Change impacts, further exemplified by e.g. more rain in shorter periods leading to flash floods and increased discharges, increase in colour (NOM) in natural waters requiring improved treatment facilities. The engineers and researches of the future produced by Partner universities must be well educated in these issues to meet tomorrow’s challenges in the High North.

The seven university partners from Norway, US, Canada, South Korea, China and Japan do have graduate programs /subjects in Water Management and Treatment, but the aforementioned water- related challenges are addressed sporadically and incomprehensively. The Water Magic project has an ambition to develop a comprehensive teaching module addressing this need, including lecture notes, a textbook and e-learning material. The materials and concepts will be developed using best practices and experience from all seven partners and will be evaluated through student fellowships and dialogues between the end-users who are utilities, and SME’s who will be realising the innovations in to marketable products. The teaching tools will be improved iteratively using the involvement of these stakeholders.

Funded by: The High North Programme which is funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and administered by the Norwegian Centre for International Cooperation in Education (SIU).