Water System Technology

Clean water that is readily and timely available is finite and increasingly scarce. Global human water use has increased twice as fast as global population over the last century, and excessive pollutant loadings yield increas-ing water quality problems of regional and global concerns for both human water use and receiving aquatic ecosystems.

The WST program is unique in providing students with a cutting edge in water technology combined with solid understanding of natural system dynamics. The key focus of the WST program is technology in a (classical) narrow sense and technology in a broad (metatechnology) sense, where water is approached on local, regional to global scales, from natural to anthropogenic system perspectives. A wide spectrum of water-related problems in the society will be addressed in the courses of the program, from classical water supply and sanitation, to hydraulic structures and flooding, to groundwater and coastal zone protection. In spite of the wide spectrum of problems, emphasis will be given on common aspects of engineering solutions. A socioeconomic perspective on water use and protection from a stakeholder perspective and water conflict resolution will also be given within several courses.

In the WST program we use modern pedagogical methods combining e-learning with classical teaching. As a student, you will have the opportunity to use simple as well as advanced models according to interest and skills, you will be challenged by field and as well as laboratory work and be exposed to case studies from technology implementation to evaluation of catchment based water management strategies. Model use will always be accompanied with stimulation of critical thinking, with emphasis on understanding limitations of models and input uncertainties. Assignments with comprehensive multitask problems that stretch through several courses will provide opportunities to address complexities of real world problems. Last but not least, projects assignments will be whenever possible linked to ongoing national and international projects of leading Stockholm based companies. Stockholm is the “Venice of the North” with a large lake system in the West and its thousand island archipelago in the East combing with equal significance all natural water systems: streams, lakes, groundwater and coastal zones. With its unique set-ting, Stockholm is in the forefront of water technology.