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A recent report published by the European Environment Agency shows the necessity of a more ecosystem-based approach to the management of floodplains to conserve and restore biodiversity in rivers, lakes and wetlands, and increase water retention.

“The EEA report, Floodplains: a natural system to preserve and restore, points to studies that show that up to 90% of floodplains have been environmentally degraded as a result of structural...

These maps of rivers around the world were created by Esri UK, a mapping and spatial analytics company, from detailed elevation data collected using remote sensing techniques. The information was taken from Esri’s Living Atlas, one of the world’s largest collections of geographic information.

By eliminating any vegetation or infrastructure, the maps show each river’s geomorphology as it would appear on bare ground. Elevation data can be valuable in highlighting river features and landforms that cannot be seen from normal satellite...

As the global health community tracks the spread of this virus, it’s important for water and wastewater professionals to keep updated on potential impacts.

It's hard to miss the headlines. The recent outbreak of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV or COVID-19) has dominated news cycles in recent weeks. The World Health Organization (WHO) is calling it “public enemy number one.” But what information do we have that is related to coronaviruses in water and wastewater systems? And what can water- and wastewater-system operators do to...

At a loss to know what to do with your self-isolation time?

Well, why not get on the computer and help with a giant weather digitisation effort?

The UK has rainfall records dating back 200 years or so, but the vast majority of these are in handwritten form and can't easily be used to analyse past periods of flooding and drought.

The Rainfall Rescue Project is seeking volunteers to transfer all the data into online spreadsheets.

You're not required to rummage through old bound volumes; the Met Office has...

We hope you're all well and keeping your spirits up out there; the coronavirus outbreak is creating a lot of anxiety and disruption. We want to let you know how we're responding to this challenging time and we hope this update will inspire you with ways you can remain connected to your rivers and wildlife, while staying safe. Visited responsibly, our rivers and green spaces can help us maintain wellbeing during this stressful time. While we need to stay at home as much as possible, we're still allowed to take one form of exercise a...

A more ecosystem-based approach to the management of floodplains would help to conserve and restore biodiversity and reduce chemical and nutrient pollution in rivers, lakes and wetlands, and increase water retention according to the EEA report ‘Floodplains: a natural system to preserve and restore.’ Such an approach would recognise the multiple functions floodplains play.

Natural, undisturbed floodplains are under increased pressure from human development, putting at risk the unique environmental roles they play during flood...

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) has today launched a consultation as part of its Open Access Review. The consultation will inform the development of a new open access policy, aimed at ensuring that the published outputs of research are widely and freely accessible to all.

The UK government and UKRI recognise open access as an important part of achieving maximum impact from public investment in research.

As set out in the UKRI Strategic Prospectus, open access is a key foundation for a research culture and environment...

The Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) has today launched a new Public Engagement with Research and Innovation Strategy, which sets out a new and ambitious way of engaging the public with our research.

NERC is the UK’s largest funder of independent environmental science, which means that we have a key role to play in tackling some of the biggest challenges facing our planet. This includes mitigating the effects of climate change, cutting carbon emissions, ensuring access to clean air and water, protecting biodiversity and...

In principle, there is a fundamental link between climate change and flooding because, put simply, a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture. 

Correspondingly, climate change projections suggest future increases in flood severity are likely for the UK. But are we seeing an impact of climate change in the increased flood trends we have witnessed over recent decades?

Moving from trend detection through to attribution is challenging due to pronounced variability between years and between decades – as can clearly be seen by the...