The need of a constant and reliable water supply to sustain human life brings with it a responsibility to conserve this resource and to utilise and dispose of it in the most sustainable way.
Water is a primary resource that conditions all social and economic development, especially in regions and countries with scarce resources, such as Malta.
Marco Bonanno, 23, of Siġġiewi, has pursued a programme of postgraduate studies leading to an MSc in Urban Water Engineering and Management at the University of Sheffield, after completing his first degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Malta.
His 12-month postgraduate degree programme sought to provide a comprehensive formal educational base and a holistic professional approach in pursuit of a full-time career in water engineering and management, a field that is benefiting fast from science-based technical and technological advances.
He recently finalised his studies and was awarded an MSc (with distinction). He has also been awarded the Prize in Water Engineering by Sheffield University’s Department of Civil and Structural Engineering.
Mr Bonanno’s degree programme covered several taught core course modules on hydrology, environmental chemistry and microbiology, environmental sampling and data analysis as well as on matters relating to the flow in pipes, open channels and aquifers. On finalisation of this theoretical phase, other course modules focused on more applied subjects such as flood risk management, the modelling of water distribution networks, risk analysis and extreme events (as these relate to the chance of a natural hazard affecting an engineering structure), the design and performance of urban drainage and project whole life costing.
These courses also included theoretical and applied project studies conducted according to water regulatory regimes, notably the EU Water Framework Directive and the EU Directive 2007/60/EC on the assessment and management of flood risks.
Mr Bonanno’s studies are aimed at a better handling of complex urban water supply issues, together with water conveyance systems at minimum cost and the least possible negative impact on the environment .
Mr Bonanno’s dissertation, entitled ‘Defining the characteristic area of vegetation for an improved prediction of flow resistance’ dealt with developing a more accurate open channel conveyance estimation method for a better compromise between removing vegetation to reduce flood risk and conserving vegetation as a public good.
The dissertation project in particular proposed and investigated the use of a computer-generated model (written in Matlab) to better define the characteristic area of vegetation and hence improve the parameterisation of flow resistance.
The rationale and results emerging from Mr Bonanno’s dissertation show how engineering solutions can be applied to water engineering and management at large. New approaches in innovation and creativity in the field, upstream and downstream, can feasibly be harnessed to bring about desirable technical change to make the most efficient use of water resource and water conservation.
Mr Bonanno’s MSc studies were partially funded by the Strategic Educational Pathways Scholarship (Steps) programme, which is partly financed by the EU.