Future water management for Lagan
This is August Bjerkén's PhD project. August is an industrial doctoral student at Sydvatten through Lund University of Technology.
PHD PROJECT How much water is there really in Lagan’s catchment area and how do we ensure efficient and sustainable water use? These are questions that August Bjerkén hopes to answer in his research.
The lack of a detailed and “reality-based” structure means that many decisions in matters linked to water use are taken based on a lack of decision support. In addition to the fact that it leads to an increased level of uncertainty, the lack of evidence means that the decisions run a greater risk of being directly misleading or ineffective. In order to ensure the competence assurance of future decisions, an improved methodology is required regarding how the quantification of available groundwater and surface water should be done and presented. Questions about how future cooperation between authorities can be designed, as well as which authority will shoulder the ultimate responsibility, are also important.
Lagan’s catchment area has been chosen, partly because it is important for a continued secured drinking water supply in southern Sweden, partly because there is a lack of an overall assessment of the size of the catchment area’s water resources. An increased need for water in the immediate area and the area’s complex administrative division with four county administrative boards and seventeen municipalities also play a role.
The project aims to develop a methodology for quantifying groundwater and surface water within main catchment areas. It must also present proposals on how a future Swedish water management based on catchment areas can be designed, as well as how an in-depth future cooperation between authorities can be designed.
