Our online resource is designed to support business, and those working with business, identify research to support their projects and decision-making in preparing for and responding to flood events. It includes current and completed UK Research Council-funded research from the past decade, as well as new projects to watch for results in the coming years.
The projects are assigned to categories titled before, during and after a flood, or can be filtered using the following broad classifications:
Particular thanks to Dr Paola Hernandez Montes de Oca (University of Leeds and Professor Bingunath Ingirige (University of Huddersfield) for their assistance in reviewing this resource. Thanks also to Graham Brogden (Aviva) for his time and advice, as well as all speakers and participants at the ARCC flooding and business workshop held in Leeds in October 2017.
Twenty65 – can rainwater be captured, treated and reused?
University of Sheffield
January 2016 – January 2021
In the UK the status quo for all water applications is to use chlorinated drinking water. However, rainwater (water captured from roofs) and greywater (water recovered from showers and sinks) can be easily captured, treated and re-used. This ongoing research programme looks at using buildings as collection devices, routing the rainwater through guttering and downpipes and into storage tanks, and how it should be possible to both reduce the volume of rainwater reaching urban drains, and to save that water for local (re)use.
Research Council: EPSRC
Urban flood resilience in an uncertain future
University of Nottingham
2018
The project aims to enable the coordinated planning, design and operation of closely coupled urban water systems necessary to achieve transformative change in urban flood risk and water management. It will investigate how planning, design, operation and organisation of both existing and new urban water systems might be envisaged and transformed in order to deliver multiple benefits (including flood resilience) under flood, normal and drought conditions.
Research Council:
Urban resilience to intense rainfall and surface water flooding in a changing climate
Loughborough University
July 2018 – June 2021
WATCH THIS SPACE: The flow of goods, people and energy essential to continued economic development are at increasing risk of flood disruption. Models, forecasts, warnings or management strategies for urban surface water flooding are less advanced, and require improved understanding and prediction of surface water flood impacts. The project will help to raise public awareness to, and improve preparedness for and recover from, surface water floods. Two-way public engagements will disseminate knowledge raised in the project as well as collect feedback from the public.
Research Council: EPSRC
Water resilient cities: climate uncertainty & urban vulnerability to hydrohazards
Heriot-Watt University
July 2016 – June 2021
WATCH THIS SPACE: Creating resilient, sustainable, water-secure cities depends on our understanding of the potential future risks from floods and drought, and our ability to increase our resilience to them. This fellowship is quantifying the uncertainty in future hydro-hazards and designing engineering and policy interventions to help increase urban resilience and to inform urban water security adaptation plans for cities and their surrounding areas.
Research Council: EPSRC