"PhD Position Climate Resilient Water Supply in Sub-Saharan Africa"

Sub-Saharan Africa, small and medium-sized towns are growing fastest in the world. As a consequence the tap water demand is increasing at a pace never seen before. At the same time, drinking water supply is under increasing pressure due to a changing climate, provoking water scarcity. In addition, longer periods of drought and floods affects source water quality.

Your research will focus on how drinking water treatment technologies are being challenged by the consequences of a changing climate in Sub-Saharan Africa, such as temperature extremes and changes in the composition of the source water. The specific focus will lie on identifying key water quality parameters affecting performance of existing water treatment (coagulation, filtration, chlorination), as well as developing an alternative technology to leapfrog to climate-resilient water supply infrastructure.

You will:

• Identify climate change related water quality changes relevant to water treatment.
• Develop an alternative climate-resilient water treatment technology and/or strategy.
• Conduct laboratory and field experiments to study water treatment.

You will join the Sanitary Engineering Section of TU Delft’s Department of Water Management, working with partners in Ghana and Kenya. You will test new technologies in TU Delft's Waterlab, as well as collect contextualized knowledge at sites of partners in Sub-Saharan Africa. Your promotors will be Prof. Doris van Halem and Prof. Luuk Rietveld, and you will be part of TU Delft's African Water Corridor project.

We are looking for a candidate with:

• An MSc degree (or equivalent) in civil, environmental, or chemical engineering – or alike.
• Laboratory experience in water treatment and analytical techniques for water quality.
• Demonstrated Proficiency in quantitative data analysis.
• Excellent English communication skills.
• Motivation to work in an interdisciplinary research environment and collaborate with industry partners.
• Experience working in Sub-Saharan Africa is considered a plus.