Developing the next generation of modelling tools for regional integrated water management

About the Project

Water management in the UK is undergoing a major transformation, with the recent Independent Water Commission review calling for a shift toward more regional, integrated planning approaches that can simultaneously address multiple challenges such as flood risk, drought resilience, water supply, water quality, and ecohydrological processes. Greater Manchester is leading this transition and provides a unique testbed for developing integrated water management systems. This PhD builds on existing work in the Upper Irwell catchment, where hydrological, water quality, and optimisation models have already been piloted, and contributes to a broader effort to develop the digital infrastructure required for physically based, AI facilitated, integrated water system modelling in a real-world planning context.

Research questions

This project will investigate how integrated modelling frameworks can be developed to better support multi-objective water management. Key questions include: how best to link and couple different components of the water system (e.g. water resources, flood, and sewer models); what levels of process representation and model complexity are most appropriate; how to design robust data pipelines and computational infrastructure for integrated modelling; and how these tools can be used to generate actionable evidence for regional, cross-sector decision-making. The research will also explore how model integration influences system understanding, uncertainty, and the effectiveness of interventions across multiple water-related hazards. The project will be supported by the Greater Manchester Integrated Water Management team.

The i-Risk Doctoral Focal Award

i-Risk PhD research offers a unique opportunity to contribute to the generation of new knowledge in the forefront of informatics. i-Risk cohorts will advance understanding and deliver innovative tools and solutions for multi-hazard systemic risk resilience and sustainability practice. Doctoral Researchers will undertake a structured training programme and partner co-created interdisciplinary research projects.