6 EC
Semester 2, period 4
5132WAQU6Y
This course draws on the DPSIR (Drivers-Pressures-States-Impacts-Response) framework to explain the causes and consequences of poor water quality. We shall investigate basic principles of water quality and how poor water quality results, explore to what extent this can be prevented and/or managed, and how important functions, such as the supply of fresh drinking water, can be guaranteed.
As water is one of the prime necessities of life, the quality of drinking water directly influences public health and plays a major economic role both as a tradable good and a cost factor in our health care system. Water quality issues in Europe are not as visible and controversial as in many other parts of the world. Even so, two issues are highlighted in the course. The first is eutrophication, a problem with which we have nearly two centuries experience yet still have not solved. The second is emerging contaminants, a feature of our modern, chemically-dependent lifestyles and for which our understanding of their effects, both on the environment and on human health, is limited.
To find out what can be done to maintain or improve water quality, we first have to understand the ecological, chemical, and hydrological processes that transform and transport contaminants. Which chemical compounds are present in the water due to human activities and how can they be detected? What organisms are sensitive to poor water quality conditions? How do contaminants affect ecosystem processes? We then need to understand how poor water quality affects humans. What are the risks from poor water quality to, for example, human health? Finally, trade-offs need to be made between the causes and consequences of poor water to identify appropriate measures for water quality improvement. We shall examine a range of measures, from urban wastewater treatment (so at the local level) to current European policies for water quality management (viz. WFD, MSFD, and REACH).
The course is structured around lectures and tutorials, each with its own set of prescribed preparatory readings. The textbook, augmented by articles and other sources of online information, provide the basic material dealt with in lectures. Tutorials provide the opportunity for in-depth analysis of a water quality issue.
To obtain insights into frameworks for analysing environmental problems such as poor water quality.
To understand how human populations affect and transform water quality.
To gain knowledge in important physical, chemical and biological factors determining water quality in rivers, lakes, coastal and marine waters.
To obtain insight into the consequences of poor water quality for human welfare.
To examine how human society (notably European society) is addressing issues of water quality.
Recognising current policy aims with regards to water quality as encoded in the Water Framework and Marine Strategy Framework Directives.
To recognise trends in datasets from both the natural and social science aspects of water quality.
To develop a critical attitude and an ability to understand the trade-offs between scientific knowledge and societal relevance of water quality issues.
To demonstrate the ability to collaborate in finding, processing, combining and integrating multidisciplinary knowledge in a European case study that represents a complex challenge in the field of water.
The course is divided into two halves. The first half consists of lectures, with two two-hour lectures each week for four weeks. This culminates in an exam on Tuesday 5 March (week 10). The second half is initiated by a 2-hour lecture later in the same week (8 March), and followed by three weeks with two two-hour tutorials per week. During the tutorials, a case study will be investigated by teams of 3 students. The assessed product of the tutorials are a concept map, a presentation and a policy brief.
A schedule will be provided on Canvas, but you can also find (updates of) the schedule on http://www.datanose.nl or http://rooster.uva.nl. Check these sites regularly for updates and contact the coordinators in the event of overlap with other academic obligations. Lectures will be recorded and, together with the slides, made available via Canvas.
|
Activity |
Hours |
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Lecture |
18 |
|
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Exam |
2 |
|
|
Tutorial |
12 |
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Self study |
136 |
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Total |
168 |
(6 EC x 28 uur) |
Programme's requirements concerning attendance (OER-B):
Additional requirements for this course:
Assignments are linked to tutorials. If you are absent from more than one tutorial, you will fail the course unless your absence is caused by an inevitable overlap with your compulsory major programme, illness or force majeure. You should contact your tutor and the course coordinator in advance if you cannot attend a tutorial. You are also required to prepare yourself adequately for each tutorial. Lack of preparation will result in your being marked as absent.
| Item and weight | Details | Remarks |
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Final grade | ||
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60% Tentamen | Multiple choice. Students need to answer more than 60% of the questions correctly to pass the course. | |
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40% Case study | ||
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20% Policy brief | ||
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10% Causality presentation | ||
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10% Concept map |
The exam and resit test your knowledge, understanding, and application of study material derived from book chapters, other sources (both are indicated on Canvas) and lectures.
To pass the course, students must achieve a grade greater than 5 for the exam (so 5.1 or more). A resit, also a multiple choice exam, is scheduled for students who fail or do not sit the first exam. A passing grade for either exam can be achieved by answering MORE THAN 57.5% of the questions correctly.
The case study tests not only your application of DPSIR, but also your ability to analyse a water quality problem and evaluate policy intended to redress it. Students may choose their own case study. A number of cases with an introduction to the literature will be provided to support this choice. There is no opportunity to revise/resit assignments associated with the case study.
An overall grade that is greater than 5.5 is required to pass the course.
| Learning objective: | Exam: | Case study: |
|---|---|---|
| #1.
To obtain insights into frameworks for analysing environmental problems such as poor water quality. |
x | x |
| #2.To understand how human populations affect and transform water quality. | x | |
| #3.To gain knowledge in important physical, chemical and biological factors determining water quality in rivers, lakes, coastal and marine waters. | x | |
| #4.To obtain insight into the consequences of poor water quality for human welfare. | x | |
| #5.To examine how human society (notably European society) is addressing issues of water quality. | x | x |
| #6.To recognise current policy aims with regards to water quality as encoded in the Water Framework and Marine Strategy Framework Directives. | x | x |
| #7.To recognise trends in datasets from both the natural and social science aspects of water quality. | x | |
| #8.To develop a critical attitude and an ability to understand the trade-offs between scientific knowledge and societal relevance of water quality issues. | x | x |
| #8.To demonstrate the ability to collaborate in finding, processing, combining and integrating multidisciplinary knowledge in a European case study that represents a complex challenge in the field of water. | x |
Students who passed the assignment component of the course last year, but failed the exam and resit, will be exempted from the case study this year. Students who are repeating for the second time will be required to complete all aspects of the course.
The case study will be undertaken in groups of three (3) students. The three associated assignments are due in weeks 6, 7 and 8 of the course. Feedback on the first two assignments will be provided before beginning the next assignment.
A 500 word summary of your case study and a diagram which frames it within DPSIR. Worth 10% of your final grade and due 13 March.
A group presentation in which you explain how the water quality problem in your case study was caused (D-P-S). The presentation must present data to support this explanation. Worth 10% of your final grade. Given during the tutorial on 20 March
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An analysis of policy implemented (or under consideration) to address the water quality problem in your case study, with recommendations to policy-makers for further action. Worth 20% of your final grade. Due 29 March. |
The 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' applies to this course. This will be monitored carefully. Upon suspicion of fraud or plagiarism the Examinations Board of the programme will be informed. For the 'Regulations governing fraud and plagiarism for UvA students' see: www.student.uva.nl
| Week number | Topics | Preparation - see Canvas for further details |
| 1 | Introduction to the course and basics of water quality | |
| 2 | Aquatic ecology | |
| 3 | Contaminants and what to do about them | |
| 4 | Policy and water quality in a wider perspective | |
| 5 | Exam (and introduction to the case studies) | book chapters, additional sources and lectures |
| 6 | Concept map | |
| 7 | Causality presentation | |
| 8 | Policy brief |
The schedule for this course is published on DataNose.
In order to provide students some insight how we use the feedback of student evaluations to enhance the quality of education, we decided to include the table below in all course guides.
| Course Name (#EC) Water Quality (6) | N | |
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