CERES :: Browsing by Author "Smith, Heather M."

Browsing by Author "Smith, Heather M."

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Open Access
Applying the water safety plan to water reuse: towards a conceptual risk management framework
(Royal Society of Chemistry, 2015-04-08) Goodwin, Daniel; Raffin, Marie; Jeffrey, Paul; Smith, Heather M.
The Water Safety Plan (WSP) is receiving increasing attention as a recommended risk management approach for water reuse through a range of research programmes, guidelines and standards. Numerous conceptual modifications of the approach – including the Sanitation Safety Plan, the Water Cycle Safety Plan, and even a dedicated Water Reuse Safety Plan – have been put forward for this purpose. However, these approaches have yet to encapsulate the full spectrum of possible water reuse applications, and evidence of their application to reuse remains limited. Through reviewing the existing evidence base, this paper investigates the potential for adapting the WSP into an approach for water reuse. The findings highlight a need for the management of risk to reflect on, and facilitate the inclusion of, broader contexts and objectives for water reuse schemes. We conclude that this could be addressed through a more integrated approach to risk management, encapsulated within an overarching risk management framework (adapted from the WHO's Framework for safe drinking water) and operationalised through the Water Reuse Safety Plan (WRSP). We also propose that the WRSP should be based on modifications to the existing WSP approach, including an increased emphasis on supporting communication and engagement, and improvements in decision support mechanisms to better account for uncertainty, risk interactions and risk prioritisation.
Open Access
The capacity of organizations to deliver effective water management through the provisions of the Water Framework Directive: the case of Malta
(Cranfield University, 2016-08) Xerri, Francesca; Jeffrey, Paul; Smith, Heather M.
Effective implementation of the European Water Framework Directive (WFD) is dependent on Member States’ national water institutions and organizations, often designated as ‘competent authorities’. Although substantial research relating to the Directive itself has been carried out, less is known about the extent to which competent authorities have the organizational capacity to deliver it. The literature notes that conceptual understanding of capacity has been hampered by lack of definitional clarity making both its management and assessment challenging. In this contribution, several conceptualizations of organizational capacity found in the literature are used to construct a set of core qualitative organizational components that encourage analysts to consider the ways in which legal authority, information and knowledge, skills, resources and leadership shape a competent authority’s ability to deliver the WFD. Malta, the smallest European Member State, is the case study used to test the application of these components. Qualitative empirical data collected from policy documents, face-to-face semi-structured interviews and online news media articles, provided the evidence to thematically explore and evaluate the Maltese competent authorities’ organizational capacity across the implementation of three main WFD provisions that are in focus: Article 8, 9 and 14. As a result, the core components of organizational capacity are expanded and refined to produce an organizational capacity thematic map. The results show that competent authorities experience influences across the institutional frameworks they work in as well as external factors (primarily political). The results also support the idea of the organizational capacity components being highly interlinked and the presence (or lack thereof) of one component having knock-on effects on others within an organization. The combination of these two factors highly affect management options and outcomes in the implementation of the WFD. In the small state context of Malta these highlight the need to channel support in a coordinated manner from European counterparts to the Maltese water network. In turn, the water network can have positive knock-on effects on the organizational capacity of the Maltese competent authorities, which currently struggle to perform and seize available opportunities due to low possession of human resources and time availability. The approach and findings presented in this research provide a mechanism and evidence base that can facilitate bilateral discussions between Member States as well as with the European Commission, and help inform the WFD review process planned by end of 2019.
Open Access
Customer priorities for water and wastewater services: a comparative evaluation of three elicitation methods
(Wiley, 2020-07-14) Sayles, Rebecca; Smith, Heather M.; Jeffrey, Paul
Water service providers are being urged to incorporate customer preferences into their investment plans with the relative merits of different elicitation techniques being exposed to greater scrutiny. Although elicitation can be undertaken with a range of methods, there is little understanding of their comparative performance in terms of being able to generate consistent or commensurable outcomes. This study reports an evaluation of both intra and inter method consistency for three preference elicitation methods. Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient is used to measure consistency within and between elicitation methods and session transcripts provide additional evidence to support interpretation of the ranking process. Findings exposed low intra‐method variation but significant variation in some inter‐method comparisons. Discussion focuses on the internal dynamics of each method with conclusions calling for a wider range of methods to be studied so as to improve practitioner confidence in the use of these tools
Open Access
A de jure study of social accountability for water and sanitation services in Uganda
(IWA Publishing, 2022-05-17) Nansubuga, J.; Smith, Heather M.; Jeffrey, Paul
The provision and sustainability of water and sanitation services in many countries is compromised by poor accountability for investment and maintenance programmes. Previous work has largely been concerned with processes, tools, and initiatives which support wider accountability without considering the ways in which accountability is formalised in law and regulations. We use a structured content analysis of 17 legislative and policy documents from Uganda to identify the evidence for de jure accountability across 21 key water and sanitation functions using the following four accountability themes: rules, process, and standards; responsibilities and duties; performance monitoring; and corrective measures, incentives, and sanctions. Results indicate that there is a strong provision for accountability across two of the four themes but also weaknesses relating to lack of complaint mechanisms, limited stakeholder engagement in regulation formulation, and weak performance monitoring. These findings are contextualised by reference to previous work in the field with particular emphasis on the discontinuities between legal requirements and local initiatives.
Open Access
Ecosystem services from combined natural and engineered water and wastewater treatment systems: Going beyond water quality enhancement
(Elsevier, 2019-05-24) Zawadzka, Joanna; Gallagher, Elaine; Smith, Heather M.; Corstanje, Ronald
Combined natural and engineered water and waste water systems (cNES) are nature-based solutions that utilise naturally occurring processes to remove impurities from water and therefore contribute to the ecosystem service of water quality enhancement. We hypothesise that these systems may also have a potential to deliver ecosystem services other than their primary purpose of water purification and we use spatially-explicit modelling tools to determine these benefits. We focused on three different types of cNES: bank filtration (BF), managed aquifer recharge/soil aquifer treatment (MAR/SAT), and constructed wetlands (CW), and combined the ecosystem services cascade, DESSIN and CICES conceptual frameworks with multiple InVEST 3.4.4 models to investigate the spatial distribution of intermediate ecosystem services within the sites as well as in the surrounding landscape. We also determined the role of habitats present within the sites in wider landscape’s connectivity to the nearest Natura 2000 areas using the Circuitscape 4.0 model, assessed the public perception of the aesthetic value of two of the cNES technologies, i.e. CW and MAR/SAT, via an online survey, and linked the determined ecosystem services to their likely beneficiaries. Our results indicated that the sites characterised with semi-natural ecosystems had a good potential for ecosystem services provision and that the selected cNES technologies were favourably received by the public as compared to their engineered equivalents. We concluded that determination of ecosystem services potential from nature-based solutions, such as cNES technologies, should be done in consideration of various contextual factors including the type of habitats/ecosystems present within the proposed solutions, the location within the landscape as well as properties and ecosystem services potential of the areas surrounding the sites, all of which can be facilitated by deployment of spatially-explicit ecosystem service models at early stages of the planning process.
Open Access
Effect of elevated UV dose and alkalinity on metaldehyde removal and THM formation with UV/TiO2 and UV/H2O2
(Elsevier, 2015-11-26) Jefferson, Bruce; Jarvis, Peter; Bhagianathan, Govind Kannoly; Smith, Heather M.; Autin, Olivier; Goslan, Emma Harriet; MacAdam, Jitka; Carra, Irene
Drinking water production needs to increasingly consider removal of background organic matter and trace micropollutants without increasing disinfection-by-product (DBP) formation potential. The presented data demonstrates the efficacy of both UV/H2O2 and UV/TiO2 in removing the pesticide metaldehyde to below drinking water compliance levels in both real and synthetic waters. This pesticide has proven to be unaffected by conventional water treatment processes such as granular activated carbon and is responsible for many of the water company compliance failures in the UK. The potential of UV/H2O2 is further demonstrated to offer an alternative approach for the removal of recalcitrant organic matter to ensure DBP compliance as long as extended UV doses of over 10,000 mJ cm−2 are applied at the optimum peroxide dose of 8 mM. Alkalinity and UV dose have an impact on DBP formation: at low UV fluences, increased alkalinity reduced the DBP formation. The UV/TiO2 process was observed to be inhibited in the presence of alkalinity. Aggregation studies and comparison of the catalyst fractal dimension showed that the process inhibition is mainly due to aggregation. This restricts the surface area available for reactions, rather than changes in the catalyst properties or carbonate radical scavenging, which is often the reasoning attributed to photocatalysis inhibition. Hence, the presented results indicate that decreasing the catalyst aggregation is the key to apply photocatalysis as drinking water treatment.
Open Access
Enabling the uptake of circular water solutions
(IWA Publishing, 2024-01-12) Frijns, Jos; Smith, Heather M.; Makropoulos, Christos
This study advances the discourse on the transition from a linear to a circular water paradigm, within which water is reused and resources such as nutrients and energy can be recovered. The research provides an empirical evidence from demonstrative cases, identifying the technological, economic, socio-cultural, and regulatory factors that facilitate or impede the broader adoption of circular solutions in the water sector. It proposes an integrated system approach, which encompasses a comprehensive set of enabling instruments, including (a) the demonstration of the sustainability of circular water technologies at a system level, thereby providing a robust proof of concept; (b) a shift from a conventional financial cost-benefit approach to a business model predicated on circular value chains, underscoring the economic feasibility of these solutions; (c) the enhancement of social acceptance through active stakeholder engagement, thereby fostering a supportive community for these transformative changes; and (d) the adaptation of the regulatory framework to incentivise circular water solutions, such as the establishment of dedicated end-of-waste criteria to facilitate market access for recovered resources. The study concludes that a concerted effort is required to reconceptualise our water systems as circular systems, and to legitimise the role of circular water within our society and economy.
Open Access
Environmental regulation in transition: Policy officials’ views of regulatory instruments and their mapping to environmental risks
(Elsevier, 2018-07-29) Taylor, Christopher M. ; Gallagher, Elaine; Pollard, Simon J. T.; Rocks, Sophie A.; Smith, Heather M.; Leinster, Paul; Angus, Andrew
This study re-analysed 14 semi-structured interviews with policy officials from the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) to explore the use of a variety of regulatory instruments and different levels of risk across 14 policy domains and 18 separately named risks. Interviews took place within a policy environment of a better regulation agenda and of broader regulatory reform. Of 619 (n) coded references to 5 categories of regulatory instrument, ‘command and control’ regulation (n = 257) and support mechanisms (n = 118) dominated the discussions, with a preference for ‘command and control’ cited in 8 of the policy domains. A framing analysis revealed officials' views on instrument effectiveness, including for sub-categories of the 5 key instruments. Views were mixed, though notably positive for economic instruments including taxation, fiscal instruments and information provision. An overlap analysis explored officials' mapping of public environmental risks to instrument types suited to their management. While officials frequently cite risk concepts generally within discussions, the extent of overlap for risks of specific significance was low across all risks. Only ‘command and control’ was mapped to risks of moderate significance in likelihood and impact severity. These results show that policy makers still prefer ‘command and control’ approaches when a certainty of outcome is sought and that alternative means are sought for lower risk situations. The detailed reasons for selection, including the mapping of certain instruments to specific risk characteristics, is still developing.
Open Access
Evaluating media framing and public reactions in the context of a water reuse proposal
(Taylor and Francis, 2017-07-17) Goodwin, Daniel; Raffin, Marie; Jeffrey, Paul; Smith, Heather M.
The public is increasingly engaging with information about water reuse proposals through the Internet. Though there are benefits to engaging the public online, there may also be challenges associated with media bias or online advocacy. This study qualitatively examines the public response (online comments, n = 1323) to online news reporting an indirect potable reuse proposal for London. The study found no evidence of the media’s framing of the event strongly shaping the unsolicited online public reactions. Findings suggest that though communications may struggle to counter longer-term news agendas, there may be benefits to experimenting with framing water safety measures and shorter-term gains.
Open Access
An exploration of customers’ satisfaction with water and wastewater services in the UK
(World Scientific, 2023-02-03) Tian, Kang; Goodwin, Daniel; Gallagher, Elaine; Smith, Heather M.
In this research, we examine the relationship between customer satisfaction with water and wastewater services, demographic factors, communication with the utility, and perceived trustworthiness. Through a survey of the UK public (n = 760), we found that 77% of the respondents stated they were satisfied with their water and wastewater services. Statistical analysis highlighted significant demographic differences in the level of satisfaction, particularly by age, with higher satisfaction in older respondents. We found that the degree to which respondents think their water utility can be trusted to provide accurate information predicted satisfaction, as did more frequent engagement with a water utility’s social media. More frequently contacting a water utility or discussing water services with friends and family both negatively predicted satisfaction. Meeting the public’s expectations for accurate and timely information is coupled with their perceptions of a water utility’s trustworthiness and their satisfaction with water and wastewater services. Water utilities may increase the satisfaction of their customers through strategies and initiatives that are attentive to the credibility of the information they provide and the means through which they provide it. In summary, our research indicates that the water sector’s ambition to develop more diverse (and inclusive) customer engagement experiences, including through online platforms and social media, may deliver benefits (particularly with the less engaged and younger age groups across varying regional water governance contexts) that complement overall efforts to build trust and satisfaction, but we acknowledge that these are complex long-term processes.
Open Access
Exploring public perceptions and support for green infrastructure funding mechanisms: a study of the Oxford–Cambridge Arc, England
(Taylor and Francis, 2023-03-31) Steadman, Shandelle; Smith, Heather M.; Jeffrey, Paul; Wheat, Phill
The uptake of green infrastructure is challenged by a lack of access to financing. Studies have investigated individuals’ economic valuation of green infrastructure but understanding public perceptions of a range of potential funding mechanisms is a fundamental step in developing funding measures. Using data collected from a sample of residents in the Oxford–Cambridge Arc, England, this study addresses a gap in our understanding of public perceptions of green infrastructure funding by investigating support for several funding mechanisms, and the extent to which support is associated with attitudinal, contextual and personal capability variables. Results indicate that respondents prefer the funding of small and large-scale infrastructure to be covered by developers, with most opposition being levelled at those involving additional financial obligations from citizens. Altruistic-biospheric values, pro-environmental behaviour and trust in the government significantly affected support. These findings provide valuable insight to policymakers attempting to introduce sustainable green infrastructure funding streams.
Open Access
From risk to safety management: stakeholder engagement to inform the governance and design if water reuse schemes.
(2017-12) Goodwin, Daniel; Smith, Heather M.; Jeffrey, Paul
Water reuse is a feasible technological approach to addressing urban water management challenges. Whilst stakeholder acceptance is acknowledged as important for scheme success, less is known about how to interpret and influence stakeholder attitudes to water reuse, how preferences for risk mitigation influence scheme design, and what forms of engagement with risk work in what contexts. This thesis aims to understand the nature of stakeholder perceptions and expectations in the context of water reuse schemes, and to critically evaluate how stakeholder engagement with risk management can be used to enhance the governance and design of water reuse schemes. Through an embedded case study design and mixed-methods research, perceptions of water reuse as a feasible water management intervention in London are explored. This study offers a number of contributions to the immediate field of research. Firstly, the findings highlight perceived benefits to engaging stakeholders through more collaborative learning-by-doing risk management. Secondly, the findings help to improve knowledge of methods for interpreting, informing and influencing stakeholders’ perceptions through mediums such as online news and video animations. Thirdly, findings contribute to the understanding of the effectiveness of communication through showing an impact on public perceptions predicated on the focal characteristics of risk management messages. Fourthly, findings indicate that preferences for different recycled water uses and perceptions of certain scheme configurations could influence design decisions. Finally, findings support benefits of including stakeholders in multi-criteria evaluations of risk-based decisions. A further contribution of this research is the identification of a number of thematic conditions necessary for enhancing scheme governance and design. These thematic conditions can assist in developing knowledge that focuses on overcoming the challenges of translating contemporary management and design theory into practice. In particular, this research highlights implication for advancing state-of-the-art risk management frameworks, specifically, through adopting more adaptive rationales informed through stakeholder engagement. This study contributes to the development of local and regional capabilities for water reuse risk management with implications for developing more strategic water reuse guidance and policy.
Open Access
How Governance Regimes Shape the Implementation of Water Reuse Schemes
(MDPI, 2016-12-20) Frijns, Jos; Smith, Heather M.; Brouwer, Stijn; Garnett, Kenisha; Elelman, Richard; Jeffrey, Paul
The governance dimensions of water reuse scheme development and operation, such as policies and regulatory frameworks, and public involvement and stakeholder collaboration, can serve to both facilitate and constrain wider adoption of water reuse practices. This paper explores the significance and underlying structure of the key governance challenges facing the water reuse sector in Europe. It presents empirical evidence from interviews and focus group sessions conducted at four water reuse schemes: an indirect potable reuse scheme at Torreele (Belgium), the urban reuse of treated municipal wastewater at the London Olympic Park (United Kingdom) and at Sabadell (Spain), and the reuse of agro-industrial effluent for irrigation at Capitanata (Italy). The findings underscore the importance of clarity in policy arrangements around water reuse, as well as of the financial competitiveness of reuse projects compared to alternative water supply options. Operators of water reuse schemes expressed a preference for water quality standards, which focus on appropriateness for use rather than over-emphasise the waters’ origin so that unnecessary treatment and costs can be avoided. Positive public support was widely acknowledged as an important factor in the success or failure of water reuse schemes. We conclude that constructive institutional relationships underpin many of the challenges faced by reuse scheme operators and that greater emphasis should be given to building confidence and gaining trust in water service providers through early identification of how governance regimes shape the viability of new schemes
Open Access
Informing public attitudes to non-potable water reuse – The impact of message framing
(Elsevier, 2018-08-04) Goodwin, Daniel; Raffin, M.; Jeffrey, Paul; Smith, Heather M.
Water reuse is of increasing relevance for water-stressed regions but is often considered a contentious option. Research has shown that providing the public with information about reuse options can impact positively on its acceptability, although such impacts can be confined to specific groups. In this context, there is growing interest in understanding the impact of different forms and mechanisms of communication with the public around reuse. This contribution has investigated the use of video animations to communicate the safety of non-potable recycled water schemes. The aim of this study was to evaluate how different ways of framing messages about the safety of recycled water might impact on public attitudes. Participants were recruited in London (n = 689), UK, and randomly allocated to test and control groups, with the former being exposed to one of four video animations that used different frames to convey messages about recycled water safety. Surveys collected pre- and post-video message responses for dependent variables including the general acceptance of diverse non-potable recycled water uses, risk perceptions and trust. The findings complement existing knowledge on the impacts of different types of messaging on public attitudes to reuse schemes with important evidence for the positive impact of water safety communications framed in terms of compliance with water quality requirements. Contrarily, a positive attitudinal impact was not evident for safety message framed in terms of the selection of water treatment technology to remove contaminants nor in terms of non-potable water risks relative to other every-day risks. The results are of value to water resource planners looking to develop communication resources, as part of more comprehensive public engagement strategies, for improving perceptions of water reuse. Importantly, the findings help isolate the effects of specific message frames, and inform the debate on whether an increased understanding of risk positively or negatively influences willingness to support water reuse schemes.
Open Access
Public perceptions of household IoT smart water ‘event’ meters in the UK – implications for urban water governance
(Frontiers, 2022-02-14) Goulas, Athanasios; Goodwin, Daniel; Shannon, Caitriona; Jeffrey, Paul; Smith, Heather M.
Cities around the world are facing water availability challenges, intensified by increasing populations and climate change. Technology, such as household smart meters measuring domestic water consumption, can play a role in demand management, yet a deeper understanding of public expectations and the practicalities of city-wide implementation is required. This article explores public perceptions of smart water meters that use Internet of Things (IoT) technology and machine learning to profile household water use “events” and anomalies. By leveraging insights from an online survey implemented in the UK (n = 558), this article explores factors influencing the likelihood of citizens choosing to have this type of meter installed along with potential societal barriers and opportunities. Nearly half of the participants said they would choose to have such a meter installed and logistic regression showed predictive variables were younger ages, being male, those with existing water meters and those with other smart devices. The likelihood of choosing this type of water meter was also associated with preferences to have control over data privacy, whether the meter would reduce water bills and whether it was provided free of charge. We locate these results within other contemporary experiences of smart meters and water grids in urban contexts to discuss practical challenges of using real-time environmental data for urban water governance. Policymakers and water resources planners should continue to monitor public perceptions, implement urban experiments and cost-benefit analyses to better interpret the wider benefits of such technology for behavioral and educational interventions within a more digitized and increasingly data-centric water grid.
Open Access
Public perceptions of recycled water: a survey of visitors to the London 2012 Olympic Park
(IWA Publishing, 2014-08-26) Smith, Heather M.; Rutter, P.; Jeffrey, Paul
The Old Ford Water Recycling Plant, operated by Thames Water, was used to supply non-potable recycled blackwater to some of the venues at the London 2012 Games. In an effort to learn from this experience, Thames Water commissioned a survey of visitors to the Olympic Park during the Games to explore public responses to the water recycling project. Results show a very high level of support for using non-potable recycled blackwater, both in public venues and in homes. Such findings may indicate a growing receptivity towards this technology, and show that Thames Water (and other private water companies) are well placed to encourage and even lead public discussion around the role of water reuse in the future of urban water supplies.
Open Access
Public responses to water reuse - Understanding the evidence
(Elsevier, 2017-12-12) Smith, Heather M.; Brouwer, Stijn; Jeffrey, Paul; Frijns, J
Over the years, much research has attempted to unpack what drives public responses to water reuse, using a variety of approaches. A large amount of this work was captured by an initial review that covered research undertaken up to the early 2000s (Hartley, 2006). This paper showcases post-millennium evidence and thinking around public responses to water reuse, and highlights the novel insights and shifts in emphasis that have occurred in the field. Our analysis is structured around four broad, and highly interrelated, strands of thinking: 1) work focused on identifying the range of factors that influence public reactions to the concept of water reuse, and broadly looking for associations between different factors; 2) more specific approaches rooted in the socio-psychological modelling techniques; 3) work with a particular focus on understanding the influences of trust, risk perceptions and affective (emotional) reactions; and 4) work utilising social constructivist perspectives and socio-technical systems theory to frame responses to water reuse. Some of the most significant advancements in thinking in this field stem from the increasingly sophisticated understanding of the ‘yuck factor’ and the role of such pre-cognitive affective reactions. These are deeply entrenched within individuals, but are also linked with wider societal processes and social representations. Work in this area suggests that responses to reuse are situated within an overall process of technological ‘legitimation’. These emerging insights should help stimulate some novel thinking around approaches to public engagement for water reuse.
Open Access
Public views on drought mitigation: evidence from the comments sections of on-line news sources
(Taylor and Francis, 2015-01-20) Russell-Verma, Sharon; Smith, Heather M.; Jeffrey, Paul
During the spring of 2012 much of the south-east of England was under water use restrictions, as a result of two consecutive dry winters. The drought highlighted the region's vulnerability to this natural hazard and emphasized the issues associated with water shortages and the need for drought mitigation measures. Using qualitative content analysis of online news articles (n = 14) and their associated comments from readers (n = 1298) we explore both public preferences for drought mitigation options and the underpinning reasoning used to justify such preferences. Findings suggest that supply side interventions attract more intense commentary and divide opinion to a greater extent than demand side strategies and that dialogue around mitigation options is characterised by a pronounced concern for the relative social justice of choices. The study also generates important lessons about the structured use of on-line public opinion sources and we offer conclusions about how these might best be utilised in the future.
Open Access
Real-life resilience: exploring the organisational environment of international water utilities
(Elsevier, 2022-08-26) Giffoni, Eduarda; Jude, Simon; Smith, Heather M.; Pollard, Simon J. T.
The water sector has signalled the need to advance organisational and social resilience efforts. There is a lack of understanding of whether the organisational environment in water utilities is conducive to organisational resilience. Themes from interviews showcased challenges related to cognitive and contextual organisational properties. We identified a need to broaden the cognitive frame of utilities to account for flexible concepts of enhanced sense-making. We propose categories of organisational silos and a set of cultural attributes that contribute to organisational resilience. Interventions are needed to develop the cognitive, behavioural, and contextual properties of utilities that support organisational resilience.
Open Access
River basin management, development planning, and opportunities for debate around limits to growth
(Elsevier, 2014-04-18) Smith, Heather M.; Blackstock, Kirsty Louise; Wall, Gill; Jeffrey, Paul
Some of the latest global paradigms in sustainable water governance revolve around ideas of promoting greater integration within policy implementation processes that impact on land and water. The EU Water Framework Directive (WFD), seen by many as a ‘Sustainability Directive’, reflects this trend, and places particular emphasis on building linkages between water management and land use planning. This paper presents the results of a research project that examined this integrative vision in a real world setting – the emerging relationship between the WFD’s river basin management planning (RBMP) framework and the development planning (DP) system in Scotland. The project’s approach draws from interpretive policy analysis, and the results are based on analyses of key policy documents, as well as in-depth interviews, primarily with land use planning staff from local authorities, as well as other relevant public agencies such as the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). The results show how an overarching political objective of ‘increasing sustainable economic growth’ is significantly affecting stakeholders’ understandings of the RBMP-DP relationship, as well as their own roles and responsibilities within that relationship. This has created barriers to the deliberation and potential operationalisation of environmental limits to growth in the built environment, which may be skewing decision-making processes in a way that undermines the RBMP framework and its objectives of protecting and improving the water environment.