Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has received increasing attention over the past year across the world. In the UK, local, regional and national wastewater monitoring programmes were established in 2020 to detect severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoVID-2) patterns in human sewage to monitor outbreaks. The establishment of these monitoring programmes has seen considerable investment into establishing the infrastructure, methodology and resources needed to sample, analyse, and interpret data from WBE.

The aim of this study was to better understand the likely impacts of climate change (amount, frequency, and distribution of precipitation) on Private Water Supplies (PWS) in Scotland. In particular, the consequences on PWS resilience to water shortages in order to assess changes in vulnerability due to reduced quantity of water as a result of climate change.

Industrial estates are a well-recognised cause of pollution and Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) have been identified as an important option to address the pollution risk. This study aimed to investigate the potential for retrofitting SUDS on industrial estates to try to reduce pollution of watercourses. The project focused primarily on source control SUDS, or SUDS on an individual property bassis, as well as conveyance types of SUDS.

There are approximately 22,000 private water supplies in Scotland serving a population of nearly 197,000 people Many of these are also micro- and other businesses which rely on these supplies for their existence: frequently providing services to a broader public as visitors and tourists particularly in remote rural areas of the country.

This project sought to review the challenges in delivering drinking water compliance, with a focus on the quality and quantity of investment drivers, and to assess the proposed or deployed solutions against these criteria. These outputs will assist in identifying value for money criteria for investment; identify how the policy and regulatory framework includes water treatment choices, risk appetite and costs; identify how changes to the policy framework could improve value for money and sustainability and inform policy on drinking water treatment based on economics and quality enhancement.

Many areas of Great Britain were badly affected by flooding over a fourteen-week period in the winter of 2015/2016. The flooding had considerable impacts on numerous communities, including private homes, business premises, transport infrastructure and agricultural land. In Scotland, in early December 2015, severe flooding affected the south of the country with Hawick and Dumfries both badly affected. Late December saw further periods of heavy rainfall that brought more flooding to the South of Scotland, badly affecting Peebles and Newton Stewart.

This study looks at what communities at risk of flooding know and feel about Natural Flood Management (NFM). NFM can involve a variety of tools to slow down or store floodwater such as restoring natural river channels, removing flood embankments, planting trees along riverbanks, and blocking upland drains. NFM is a key part of sustainable flood risk management, so understanding attitudes to NFM can help develop approaches for engaging communities in flood risk management.

The aim of the research was to identify barriers faced by private developers in the provision of innovations in water and wastewater services and to provide recommendations to enhance innovation in building and managing water and wastewater assets.  In order to achieve this aim, the project team carried out a detailed literature review using data and information sourced from academic and grey literature to identify barriers to adoption of innovation in water and wastewater service provision. This was

Lead pipes and plumbing components such as lead-solder and brass fittings can contaminate drinking water on its route from the water mains to the premises and pose a public health risk. Exposure to lead in tap water is entirely preventable but challenging to achieve. To contribute to a better understanding of these challenges, this report reviews evidence on the public health, mitigation and economic perspectives of lead in drinking water in Scotland and internationally.