Study information

Water and Environmental Systems - 2024 entry

MODULE TITLEWater and Environmental Systems CREDIT VALUE15
MODULE CODEECMM110 MODULE CONVENERProf Guangtao Fu (Coordinator)
DURATION: TERM 1 2 3
DURATION: WEEKS 0 11 0
Number of Students Taking Module (anticipated) 20
DESCRIPTION - summary of the module content
The growth of the world's population, urbanisation, and climate change make sustainable management of water resources more crucial than ever. In addition, extreme weather events such as droughts and floods are becoming increasingly likely, posing further challenges to the sustainable management of water and environmental systems. It is imperative to urgently build resilience to extreme events and minimize their consequences. Innovative solutions are required for sustainable water management.

In this module you will investigate the current practices and issues in planning and management of water and environmental systems in the UK and around the world. Through case studies taken from real-world studies, this module will allow you to identify key drivers, future uncertainties and trends, and explore a range of intervention measures to improve the system performance of water and environmental systems and reduce the impacts from various threats. You will develop team-working skills to tackle complex environmental issues and effective verbal and written communication skills to technical and non-technical audiences. Further, you will gain an enhanced understanding of engineering management principles and relevant commercial and legal contexts and apply the new acknowledge to water and environmental system management in practice.

This module is designed as a standalone course although prior knowledge of hydrology and water quality is desirable. The module is suitable for specialist students looking to advance their knowledge on some specific topics (such as Environmental Impact Assessment), and for non-specialist students looking to gain an understanding of key issues in water and environmental management.

 

AIMS - intentions of the module

This module aims to give you an in-depth knowledge of driving factors, key issues, new approaches and tools for planning and management of water and environmental systems. It also provides practical experience in the development and use of planning and management approaches and tools to solve water and environmental problems. To solve complex water problems in a wider social and economical context, you will develop effective communication skills to explain technical problems, methods and solutions to both technical and non-technical audiences, and develop team-working skills to develop and evaluate systematic solutions.   

INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES (ILOs) (see assessment section below for how ILOs will be assessed)

Module Specific Skills and Knowledge:

  1. Evaluate the effectiveness of the engineering solutions (or interventions) developed, considering environmental, social-economical aspects and associated risks and uncertainties.

Discipline Specific Skills and Knowledge:

  1. Apply knowledge of engineering management principles, commercial context, project and change management, and relevant legal matters to water and environmental system management during the whole life cycle. (C15)

Personal and Key Transferable / Employment Skills and Knowledge:

  1. Function effectively as a member of a team to conduct an environmental impact assessment of a complex water project. Evaluate effectiveness of own and team performance in producing a cohesive, high-quality report. (M16)
  1. Communicate effectively on complex environmental matters with technical and non-technical audiences, in both verbal and written formats. (M17)
SYLLABUS PLAN - summary of the structure and academic content of the module
  • Sustainable water management: principles, measures, practices and case studies;
  • Environmental impact assessment: drivers, key procedures, regulations;
  • Water system resilience: engineering resilience, system resilience analysis, intervention measures;  
  • Flood risk and resilience; 
  • Water management decision analysis: multi-criteria decision making such as analytic hierarchy process, weighted aggregation, preference ranking
LEARNING AND TEACHING
LEARNING ACTIVITIES AND TEACHING METHODS (given in hours of study time)
Scheduled Learning & Teaching Activities 33 Guided Independent Study 117 Placement / Study Abroad 0
DETAILS OF LEARNING ACTIVITIES AND TEACHING METHODS
Category Hours of study time Description
Scheduled learning and teaching activities 33 Lectures and Tutorials
Guided independent study 117 Assessment preparation; private study

 

ASSESSMENT
FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT - for feedback and development purposes; does not count towards module grade
Form of Assessment Size of Assessment (e.g. duration/length) ILOs Assessed Feedback Method
Not applicable      

 

SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT (% of credit)
Coursework 100 Written Exams 0 Practical Exams 0
DETAILS OF SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT
Form of Assessment % of Credit Size of Assessment (e.g. duration/length) ILOs Assessed Feedback Method
EIA Report 30 35 hours approx. 1,2,3,4 Written feedback 
Water management decision analysis
 35 40 hours approx. 1,4 Written feedback; oral feedback on presentation
Flood Risk Assessment 35 40 hours approx. 1,4 Written feedback; oral feedback on presentation

 

DETAILS OF RE-ASSESSMENT (where required by referral or deferral)
Original Form of Assessment Form of Re-assessment ILOs Re-assessed Time Scale for Re-reassessment
All above Coursework (100%) 2,3,4 Referral/deferral period

 

 

RE-ASSESSMENT NOTES

Reassessment will be by a single piece of coursework worth 100% of the module. For deferred candidates, the mark will be uncapped. For referred candidates, the mark will be capped at 50%.

 


 

RESOURCES
INDICATIVE LEARNING RESOURCES - The following list is offered as an indication of the type & level of
information that you are expected to consult. Further guidance will be provided by the Module Convener

 

Author 
Title 
Edition 
Publisher 
Year 
ISBN 
Mays, L and Tung, Yeou-Koung  
Hydrosystems Engineering and Management 
 
 
 
 

 
McGraw Hill Education 
1992 
000-0-070-41446-8 
Nazaroff; W and Alvarez-Cohen; Lisa 
Environmental Engineering Science 
 
 
 
 

 
John Wiley & Sons 
2001 
000-0-471-14494-0 
Mara, DD and Evans, BE 
Sanitation and Water Supply in Low-income Countries 
 
 
 
 

 
Ventus Publishing 
2011 
978-87-7681-866-1 
Dawei Han 
Concise Environmental Engineering 
 
 
 
 

 
Bookboon 
2012
978-87-403-0197-7 
Walter Lukenga 
Water Resources Management 
 
 
 
 

 
Bookboon 
2015 
978-87-403-0978-2 

 

Reading list for this module:

Type Author Title Edition Publisher Year ISBN
Set Mays, L and Tung, Yeou-Koung Hydrosystems Engineering and Management McGraw Hill Education 1992 000-0-070-41446-8
Set Nazaroff; W and Alvarez-Cohen; Lisa Environmental Engineering Science John Wiley & Sons 2001 000-0-471-14494-0
Set Mara, DD and Evans, BE Sanitation and Water Supply in Low-income Countries Ventus Publishing 2011 978-87-7681-866-1
Set Dawei Han Concise Environmental Engineering Bookboon 2012 978-87-403-0197-7
Set Walter Lukenga Water Resources Management Bookboon 2015 978-87-403-0978-2
CREDIT VALUE 15 ECTS VALUE 7.5
PRE-REQUISITE MODULES None
CO-REQUISITE MODULES None
NQF LEVEL (FHEQ) 7 AVAILABLE AS DISTANCE LEARNING No
ORIGIN DATE Tuesday 20th February 2024 LAST REVISION DATE Monday 5th August 2024
KEY WORDS SEARCH Water; environmental systems; systems analysis; sustainability; resilience; flood management

Please note that all modules are subject to change, please get in touch if you have any questions about this module.