“We need more water efficiency in Scotland to save money and achieve net zero. Thus, I am working out how we can develop the water reuse potential.” 

Hubert Cousin is a Hydro Nation Scholar and PhD student at the University of Dundee.

Water reuse, as an unconventional source of water, offers emerging solutions to existing and future challenges, however, new alternatives conclude to new issues. His research aims to identify the barriers to the implementation of a water reuse policy in Scotland and offer solutions to overcome them. The means will be:

• Case study of Murcia (Spain) which fulfilled its water reuse potential, by a literature review and interviews with stakeholders to identify their perceptions of the barriers to reuse and its solutions.
• Mapping by utilisation of an index to identify the end-users and the wastewater treatment plants with the most potential in Scotland.
• Analysis of the level of acceptance by the public and potential end-users respectively through a workshop and interviews.
• Workshop with stakeholders to identify practical means to implement water reuse in Scotland.

A safe and sound water reuse policy in Scotland would answer the future challenges imposed by climate change on the quantity, quality and availability of water resources and the increasing water demand. Water reuse is a growing field of research worldwide which is currently dominated by the water scarcity driver. Developing research on this subject from different perspectives in a country described as water-rich will offer a distinct understanding of the challenges water reuse represent.

Hubert’s academic background is a Geography licence and master’s degree from the University of Paris-Sorbonne, and an interdisciplinary MSc in Sustainability and Water Security at the University of Dundee.

Email: 2397857@dundee.ac.uk