Dr Katrina Charles

Biography

Dr Charles is a lecturer in environmental engineering, within the Centre for Environmental Strategy (CES) and the Centre for Environmental and Health Engineering (CEHE). Katrina is the module leader for Regulation and Management (ENGM040) and Groundwater Control (ENGM039) for the Water and Environmental Engineering MSc, as well as a lecturer for Applied Chemistry and Microbiology (ENGM055). She is also lectures on the Water Policy and Management module delivered by CES.

Dr Charles achieved her Bachelors in Environmental Engineering (with honours), majoring in chemical engineering and water engineering, from the University of New South Wales in 2000, followed by her PhD from the same university in 2007. She was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Surrey from 2005 - 2010.

In addition to her research activities, Dr Charles has been active in public engagement and within the water industry. She was a British Science Association Media Fellow and has been a STEM Ambassador since 2008. She has been the International Water Association's (IWA) UK Young Members' Representative since 2006, and is the coordinator for the UK Young Water Professionals (YWP) conferences. She is currently an LTN Business Fellow.

Dr Charles is a member of SWIRL, Surrey Water Innovation Research & Learning

Research Interests

My main research interests are linked to improving access to and sustainability of water supply and sanitation systems; the fate and transport of viruses in the environment; and the use of quantitative microbial risk assessment. The role of communication in these areas is also a key interest.

Improving access to and sustainability of water supply and sanitation systems

• 3KSan: Catalysing self-sustaining sanitation chains in informal settlements, working in Kisumu (Kenya), Kigali (Rwanda) and Kampala (Uganda)
• The impact of changes in rainfall patterns on infrastructure, water quality and water availability
• The role of communication as an adaptation mechanism in water management
• Appropriate policies for adaptation in the water and sanitation sector

Fate and transport of viruses in the environment

• Virus transport in unsaturated environments
• The behaviour of viruses in different soil environments, and how that impacts movement in overland flow
• The role of heterogeneity in virus transport 
• Behaviour of viruses in different water and wastewater treatment systems

Quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA)

• The use of QMRA to delineate appropriate buffer distances for onsite sewage disposal
• Risks associated with santitation management practices, such as re-use and desludging
• Risk communication as a planning tool in informal settlements in Africa

Research Collaborations

Collaborating with Dr Sotoris Moschoyiannis (Department of Computing and Mathematics) and Dr Kathy Pond to investigate whether probabilistic modelling can be used in drinking water standards (funded through MILES).

Collaborating with Steve Pedley (RCPEH), Rosalind Malcolm (Law), Thoko Kaime (Law) and Jonathan Chenoweth (CES) on the 3KSan project, as well as Makerere University, Kampala; the Victoria Institute for Research on Environment and Development (VIRED), Kenya and The Institute of Policy Analysis and Research-Rwanda (IPAR), Rwanda.

Publications

Bartram, J., K. Charles, B. Evans, L. O'Hanlon and S. Pedley (2012). "Commentary on community-led total sanitation and human rights: should the right to community-wide health be won at the cost of individual rights?" Journal of Water and Health 10(4): 499-503.

Ahmed, AE-SI, Cavalli, G, Wardell, JN, Bushell, ME and Hay, JN (2012) N-halamines from rice straw Cellulose, 19 (1). 209 - 217. ISSN 0969-0239

Ahmed, A. E. S. I., G. Cavalli, M. E. Bushell, J. N. Wardell, S. Pedley, K. Charles and J. N. Hay (2011). "New Approach To Produce Water Free of Bacteria, Viruses, and Halogens in a Recyclable System." Applied and environmental microbiology 77(3): 847-853.

Howard, G., K. Charles, K. Pond, A. Brookshaw, R. Hossain and J. Bartram (2010).“Securing 2020 vision for 2030: climate change and ensuring resilience in water and sanitation services”. Journal of Water and Climate Change Vol 1 No 1 pp 2–16.

Charles, K. J., Pond, K., and S. Pedley (2009). Vision 2030. The resilience of water supply and sanitation in the face of climate change: Technology fact sheets. Geneva, World Health Organization. http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/publications/vision_2030_technology_fact_sheets.pdf (PDF format, Adobe Reader required).

Charles, K. J., Pond, K., Pedley, S., Hossain, R. and Jacot-Guillarmod, F. (2009). Vision 2030. The resilience of water supply and sanitation in the face of climate change: Technology projection study. Geneva, World Health Organization. http://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/publications/vision_2030_technology_projection_report.pdf (PDF format, Adobe Reader required).

Charles, K. J., Shore, J., Sellwood, J., Laverick, M., Hart, A. and Pedley, S. (2009). "Assessment of the stability of human viruses and coliphage in groundwater by PCR and infectivity methods." Journal of Applied Microbiology 106(6): 1827-37. 

Charles, K. J. (2009). Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment: a catchment management tool to delineate buffer distances for on-site sewage treatment and disposal systems in Sydney’s drinking water catchments. Civil and Environmental Engineering. Sydney, University of New South Wales. PhD.

Ferguson, C., Charles, K. and Deere, D. (2009). "Quantification of Microbial Sources in Drinking-Water Catchments." Critical Reviews in Environmental Science and Technology 39: 1. 

Charles, K. J., Souter, F. C., Baker, D. L., Davies, C. M., Schijven, J. F., Roser, D. J., Deere, D. A., Priscott, P. K. and Ashbolt, N. J. (2008). "Fate and transport of viruses during sewage treatment in a mound system." Water Research 42(12): 3047-3056. 

Joyce, E., K. Charles, S. H. Rahman, M. F. Aller, V. Durand, M. S. Riley, R. B. Greswell, J. C. Renshaw, R. Mackay, M. O. Rivett, A. Hart, S. Pedley & J. H. Tellam (2008) Assessing the hazard from viruses in wastewater recharge of urban sandstone aquifers. Groundwater Quality: Securing Groundwater Quality in Urban and Industrial Environments (Proc. 6th International Groundwater Quality Conference held in Fremantle, Western Australia, December 2007), IAHS Publ. 324, 2008, 319–326. 

Pond, K., Charles, K. and Pedley, S. (2007). B17005 Review of the use of irrigation water in UK agriculture and the potential risks to food safety. London, Food Standards Agency. http://www.food.gov.uk/science/research/researchinfo/foodborneillness/organicwasteresearch/b17programme/b17projlist/b17005/ 

Davies, C. M., Logan, M. R., Rothwell, V. J., Krogh, M., Ferguson, C. M., Charles, K., Deere, D. A. and Ashbolt, N. J. (2006). "Soil inactivation of DNA viruses in septic seepage." Journal of Applied Microbiology 100(2): 365-74.

Hijnen, W. A. M., Brouwer-Hanzens, A. J., Charles, K. J. and Medema, G. J. (2005). "Transport of MS2 Phage, Escherichia coli, Clostridium perfringens, Cryptosporidium parvum, and Giardia intestinalis in a Gravel and a Sandy Soil." Environmental Science and Technology. 39(20): 7860-7868.

Charles, K. J., N. J. Ashbolt, D. J. Roser, R. McGuinness and D. A. Deere (2005). Effluent quality from 200 on-site sewage systems: Design values for guidelines. Water Science & Technology. 51(10):163-9.

Public engagement activities

In 2008, I received a British Science Association Media Fellowship which enabled me to spend five weeks working with Nature news team, publishing 50 items on the website, in print and on various Nature blogs. 

Since 2008 I have been a STEM Ambassador, including roles as a mentor on a Go4SET project with Oxford High School, organiser for two sessions on water at the British Science Festival (PDF report) in 2009, and in 2010 ran school workshops on the impact of climate change on water for students at St John Fisher School, Oxford, as part of the Ciao! Ark project. 

Selection of publications on Nature News

Charles, K. (2008). How green is your roof? Nature News Online. Published 19 August 2008. 

Charles, K. (2008). How pollution influences the weekend weather. Nature News Online. Published 11 August 2008.  

Charles, K. (2008). What's in a name? The Great Beyond, Nature News Blog. Published August 12, 2008. 

Charles, K. (2008). Link between skin cancer and moisturisers in hairless mice. The Great Beyond, Nature News Blog. Published August 15, 2008. 

The Ark - a spectacular public art installation that showcased the visual and performing arts created by 10 schools across Oxfordshire in response to the question – ‘If you were sailing away on an Ark to a low carbon future, what would you take with you and what would you leave behind?’.