Author: admin
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Protecting our rivers, lakes and seas: tackling water pollution through innovation and collaboration
The health of our water environment has never been higher on the public and Government agenda. The topic features daily in the media, while the Government has set a key priority to ‘Clean up our rivers, lakes and seas’. This Foundation for Water Research (FWR) panel discussion explores how innovative approaches, as well as collaboration…
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Thames RFCC and WWT collaborate on streamlined Natural Flood Management programme
Introduction The Thames Regional Flood and Coastal Committee (RFCC) and the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) are working collaboratively on an innovative Natural Flood Management (NFM) programme. The programme is designed to mainstream NFM in the catchment and provide projects with a more streamlined way to access funding. The Thames RFCC have been trialling a…
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Briefing Paper: Future of water resources
Today the FWR have published a briefing paper on the future of water resources provides an overview of the key challenges facing the water sector and explores potential solutions to support the UK in moving towards a sustainable water sector that works for people and nature. Read the briefing This briefing paper was informed through…
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Pollution from highway runoff and how to manage it
In this webinar, Jo Bradley, Stormwater Shepherds, sets out the extent of water pollution caused by highway runoff in the UK, and describes the effects of the toxins in the pollution. She explains how these harmful discharges fit in with other sources of pollution, and how we could potentially raise the profile of the problem.…
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Future home life with water in new build residential developments
This webinar presented work by University of Manchester researchers on the Ofwat Innovation-funded Enabling Water Smart Communities (EWSC) project. EWSC is an innovation project exploring the relationship between integrated water management, community engagement and practices, and housing development to unlock new opportunities for cross-sector delivery and stewardship. Ella Foggitt from the University of Manchester presented…
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Briefing: Water policy horizon scanning
A new briefing paper has been published by the Institution of Environmental Sciences (the IES) and the FWR. It address policy developments relating to water resources and systems and environments. On 11th December 2024, FWR and the IES published a new briefing paper: “Horizon scanning: Water – Policy developments and opportunities for engagement”. The briefing…
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Lessons learned from catchment-based trading in nature in south-west England
In this summary article, Professor Mark Everard explores the private investment Bristol Avon Catchment Market programme, along with its challenges and successes in ecosystem restoration. The full report on this programme can be found on the IES website. Introduction Interest in nature-based solutions (NBS) has grown, offering potential benefits for climate resilience, water security, flood…
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Water Climate Discussion – Radical Change: Reverse Water Cycles
This discussion explores how the radical change idea of reversing water cycles could support improved climate mitigation, resilience and improved biodiversity. Is climate change and the resulting loss in biodiversity irreversible? Will our current efforts to slow climate change be enough or do we need to consider radical change in our water systems? IES/FWR held…
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Integrated water management and economic growth
In this webinar Dr Jonathan Fisher explores the impacts of integrated water management on the following main drivers of economic growth: He concludes with an overall assessment that recommends key requirements to enhance the impacts of integrated water management on sustainable economic growth.
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Ecosystem Assessment using the Ramsar Convention’s adopted RAWES approach: Wetlands and beyond
This webinar provides an overview of the RAWES approach to ecosystem services assessment. Despite commitments by global signatories of the Ramsar Convention to undertake systemic assessment of designated wetlands, research has revealed that virtually no commitments had been honoured globally and that the lack of practical tools for rapid assessment was a principal obstacle. The…
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The River Crane: an Urban Smarter Water Catchment
The River Crane in West London is the UK’s first urban Smarter Water Catchment and since 2020 has benefited from £3m of direct investment across five main themes – community and access; biodiversity; water quality; geomorphology and flooding – with at least £20m of further investment identified. This webinar sets out the main findings of…
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PFAS in our water: a global problem demands a sustainable solution
Gareth Leonard, Managing Director of REGENESIS in Europe, explores how PFAS remediation can be performed efficiently and sustainably. PFAS (per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances) contamination of groundwater is a widespread problem on a massive scale, impacting the water sources that 65% of Europeans use for drinking, bathing, and cooking. According to the European Environment Agency, human biomonitoring…
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The use of artificial intelligence in surface water flood management
Dr Mónica Rivas Casado explores new ways AI can be integrated into surface water flooding monitoring and management. In England alone, 5.6 million properties have been reported to be at risk of flooding, with approximately 3.1 million households at risk of flooding due to rivers and the sea.,, The impact of surface water flooding is…
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Flood AI: Rural communities and a new flood warning system
Caitlin Rogers, the FloodAI innovation lead from Isle Utilities, shares the resilience and innovation aspirations of FloodAI. In Northumberland, there are six catchments that do not have access to the regular Environment Agency flood warnings. This means communities have no warning to protect their property, or even their safety. This is because when it rains,…
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Development of a digital twin for carbon neutrality
Aalto University researchers are supporting the Viikinmäki wastewater treatment plant in its goal to become carbon neutral
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Innovation in the water sector: ecosystem services, Net Zero and nature-based solutions
In this article, we examine how innovation is being explored by the water sector. Here, innovation needs to be understood as new methods, ideas, products, or solutions for adoption by environmental practitioners. We look at three different domains within which innovation has played a significant role: ecosystem services, nature-based solutions (NbS) and greenhouse gas emissions…
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Making a splash: new and innovative approaches to the monitoring of bathing waters
Bathing waters are defined as ‘surface waters […] other than excluded pools and waters, at which the Secretary of State expects a large number of people to bathe […]’.1 There are many more coastal locations than inland sites designated as bathing waters, but there is a growing movement to designate more river locations as such.…
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Bridging the skills gap in the water sector: challenges, solutions, and future transformations
The water sector plays a vital role in providing clean and accessible water to communities, safeguarding public health, and ensuring sustainable water resource management. While various sectors are facing skills shortages, the water industry is particularly affected. It struggles to fill 35% of job openings, exceeding the national average of 23%. Over the next five…
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Creating a distributive Smart WaterGrid for the future
Water Net Gain is a new £1.1 million initiative led by South West Water and the Westcountry Rivers Trust. It is funded under the OFWAT Water Breakthrough Challenge, a pioneering £200 million programme to unleash a wave of innovation in the water sector and tackle some of the major challenges of our time – delivering…
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Wastewater matters: The state of our rivers and the pollution crisis
Over the past two years, the coverage of the wastewater industry in England has been pretty much the centre of the headlines. Never have storm overflows had as much attention as they have had during this time period. The water industry has been quite clearly put in the firing line and blamed for the woes…
