Free to attend talks & seminars
focussing on industry specific subjects

SEMINARS & PRESENTATIONS

Drainage Theatre Day 1 -

An innovative use of natural, volcanic materials to enable lined sewer networks to operate effectively and efficiently for the next 100 years

DRAINAGE THEATRE

Volcanic Cast Basalt lining systems have for the last 30 years been successfully installed across Central Europe as a long-life lining solution for their cities and towns storm drains, wastewater, and sewer networks. Is volcanic basalt a viable alternative to traditional concrete and brick for UK contractors?

This paper sets out how, with case studies illustrating basalt’s unrivalled resistance to abrasion and corrosion basalt can have an environmentally and cost-effective impact. We explore how basalt can help the sector rise to Amp 8 challenges, while successfully upgrading ageing sewers and drainage systems so they’ll last deep into the next century.

Future Water Report Card

DRAINAGE THEATRE

A transition from reactive to proactive maintenance efforts is underway, with network monitoring initiatives providing valuable insights for performance enhancement.

A Risk-based approach to Gully Management for Carbon Reduction and Cost Savings

DRAINAGE THEATRE

Exploring the innovative concept of a risk-based approach to gully management, aimed at addressing critical environmental challenges while optimizing financial resources.

Drainage Theatre Day 2 -

Water Dragons Presentations to Judging Panel

DRAINAGE THEATRE

Now in its 15th year, Water Dragons continues to evolve with the introduction of virtual heats attracting a wide range of entries from both across the sector and around the world. Like all the best ideas, the fundamentals underpinning Water Dragons are simple and straightforward. Companies pitch their innovative product or service to the judges or ‘Dragons’, who cross-examine the presenters, focussing on three key areas

Driving Best Practice for Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) Design

DRAINAGE THEATRE

Join us to explore the current challenges facing drainage design practitioners in the context of CIRIA’s highly regarded SuDS manual and how this may impact drainage design requirements. Featuring real-world designs, we will explore how the combination of best practice and current industry guidance empowers engineers to incorporate SuDS into their designs more effectively.

The Smart Standpipe- The New Solution

DRAINAGE THEATRE

A leap forward in helping drain contractors to carry a single standpipe on their vans.

Floodex Theatre Day 1 -

We are currently working our way through this year's talks and seminars will be updated as we go. If you would like to talk at the show, or have an interesting case study to share, then please get in touch with Jon Irwin at jon@indigomediagroup.co.uk 

Smart Technology can help to reduce flooding and improve the efficiency of SuDS

FLOODEX THEATRE

Eur Eng Brian Back has spent the past circa 30 years applying technology to monitor and control remote networks. This paper shows by example how smart technology can and has been applied in a variety of circumstances to help reduce the incidents of sewer and fluvial flooding, with minimal carbon impact, cost and civil works. Furthermore, it illustrates how the the same principles can be applied to improve the efficiency of SuDS and retention lagoons.

KEYNOTE 2023/24 NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE ASSESSMENT(NIA) Building a more climate resilient UK, covering all aspects of our flooding and climate resilience recommendations in the second National Infrastructure Assessment.

FLOODEX THEATRE

Water Infrastructure and Resilience (WIRe) Centre for Doctoral Training, National Green Infrastructure Facility, Newcastle University

Covering all aspects of our flooding and climate resilience recommendations in the second National Infrastructure Assessment. The Commission carries out in-depth studies into the UK’s major infrastructure needs and makes recommendations to the government. Their work covers all sectors of economic infrastructure.

The NIA sets out the Commission's assessment of long term needs in the transport, energy, water and wastewater, flood resilience, digital, and waste sectors, and recommendations to meet them, including the right policy, regulatory and funding mechanisms

Holistic flood risk management with SuDS+ Community Led Futures

FLOODEX THEATRE

How can SuDS create thriving and sustainable communities by addressing flood risk management holistically? The SuDS+ Community Led Futures project is an innovative Defra-funded project in Stanley South, County Durham and is focused on working with local people to design and build SuDS that provide numerous benefits, such as community spaces, job opportunities, and flood management. Isle are the Innovation Lead for the SuDS+ project partnership and are exploring new approaches for the design, monitoring, resourcing and adoption of SuDS.

Groundwater: The Forgotten Flooding?

FLOODEX THEATRE

The story of how groundwater flooding has for too long been left on the ‘too difficult’ pile and the work in action to address this. Project Groundwater, led by Jed Ramsay, is aiming to bring national change through the demonstration of innovative techniques, tools and outputs to improve modelling, mapping, monitoring, warning and responding to groundwater flooding.

Proper Planning For Property Flood Assessment - No Insurance Means No Money

FLOODEX THEATRE

Ashfield Solutions Group Flood Mitigation Survey and accompanying reports are undertaken in line with the latest CIRIA Code of practice for property resilience (C790). Recommended solutions will cover both flood resistance and resilience approaches where deemed feasible.

This includes analysis of both present day and future flood risk, based upon the latest Climate Change predictions. Climate Change will lead to wetter weather all year round, meaning that the probability of experiencing flooding will generally increase in future.

Floodex Theatre Day 2 -

We are currently working our way through this year's talks and seminars will be updated as we go. If you would like to talk at the show, or have an interesting case study to share, then please get in touch with Jon Irwin at jon@indigomediagroup.co.uk 

Surface Water Flooding: Developing a whole-system approach to resilience.

FLOODEX THEATRE

TBA

Historical flash floods in the South West: Reconstructing the 1968 event

FLOODEX THEATRE

This project is focused on investigating the quantification of uncertainty in hydraulic reconstructions of historical flash flood events, with a particular emphasis on the 1968 flood event and its significant impact on the village of Pensford (Somerset, England).

We develop an innovative inverse modelling framework that seamlessly integrates available historical information with modern scientific hydraulic and statistical modelling to better understand the repercussions of this specific flood event.

Drought Managaement

FLOODEX THEATRE

For people people working in Flood Risk Management to encourage them to consider the need to conserve water in their concepts and designs

SuDS Theatre Day 1 -

We are currently working our way through this year's talks and seminars will be updated as we go. If you would like to talk at the show, or have an interesting case study to share, then please get in touch with Jon Irwin at jon@indigomediagroup.co.uk 

Welcome to the 2023 Floodex SuDS Theater: "Resilient SuDS: Resilient Places"

SuDS THEATRE

susdrain (a CIRIA Community of Practice) is thrilled to curate this seminar series for the third year in a row. This year we want to recognise SuDS as a valuable asset to be managed accordingly. Let’s not fit and forget! CIRIA will present projects aiming to achieve this.

Chair's introduction: Why resilience?

SuDS THEATRE

Why do places need to be resilient? How do SuDS help? Why do SuDS need to be resilient? Who needs to know what? Getting everyone on board to keep them functioning

Green infrastructure that stays green

SuDS THEATRE

Practitioner focused – CSO reduction, learning from Philadelphia, why planting matters from Water Infrastructure and Resilience (WIRe) Centre for Doctoral Training, National Green Infrastructure Facility, Newcastle University

SuDS and local communities: Illustrating maintenance practices to sustain SuDS benefits

SuDS THEATRE

Join us to hear about practicalities of maintaining long-term SuDS.

Rainwater reuse: from optional to obligatory

SuDS THEATRE

A talk on how the multiple environmental, social and economic benefits of dual rainwater conservation and attenuation can be achieved with the same solution.

Chair's welcome back

SuDS THEATRE

A summary of what we've heard this morning and an introduction to this afternoon's programme.

Resilient SuDS: Resilient Places - an overview of upcoming CIRIA SuDS projects

SuDS THEATRE

Sustaining SuDS benefits is key to a resilient future. CIRIA is hard at work advancing SuDS projects that promote long term SuDS management. Join us to hear what’s coming up- ideas welcomed!

Modelling for resilience

SuDS THEATRE

What needs to be included, defining functionality, what data should be collected to improve modelling for long-term functionality

SuDSPod maintenance and management

SuDS THEATRE

GreenBlue Urban will present the SuDS Pod and how to look after and maintain it.

Chair's Closing Remarks

SuDS THEATRE

A recap of today key messages, and an overview of tomorrow presentations. Some susdrain resources and key staff to contact for projects.

SuDS Theatre Day 2 -

We are currently working our way through this year's talks and seminars will be updated as we go. If you would like to talk at the show, or have an interesting case study to share, then please get in touch with Jon Irwin at jon@indigomediagroup.co.uk 

Welcome back for Day 2 of the 2023 Floodex SuDS Theatre: "Resilient SuDS: Resilient Places"

SuDS THEATRE

A recap of yesterday key messages, and an overview of today agenda.

susdrain and CIRIA resources for resilient SuDS

SuDS THEATRE

A recap of ongoing and upcoming susdrain/CIRIA projects and activities- bring your ideas for future events!

Within curtilage SuDS – A paradigm shift

SuDS THEATRE

The urgent need to think differently, conserve water, reuse it locally, plan development to include SuDS, get homeowners on board – how easy it is to manage

Receiving water – our valuable resource

SuDS THEATRE

Surface water carries pollutants, SuDS can reduce nitrates, phosphates, road runoff pollution, but only if they are working properly – what to consider

Chair's welcome back

SuDS THEATRE

A summary of what we've heard this morning and an introduction to this afternoon's programme.

Setting up your SuDS for long term Success

SuDS THEATRE

Early design of SuDS for long-term resilience

Raingardens aren't just for Christmas!

SuDS THEATRE

Kevin Barton (2022 SuDS Champion) will present on how important it is to plan beyond SuDS implementation.

SuDS delivery in London and what comes next

SuDS THEATRE

SuDS are new in the public realm, people, contractors and utilities need to be aware of them. Holly will present about SuDS delivery in London, using the SuDS retrofit map, while highlighting a few case studies.

Closing Remarks

SuDS THEATRE

A recap of today key messages. How to get involved with susdrain and key staff to contact for projects.

Waterways Theatre Day 1 -

We are currently working our way through this year's talks and seminars will be updated as we go. If you would like to talk at the show, or have an interesting case study to share, then please get in touch with Jon Irwin at jon@indigomediagroup.co.uk 

Managing Invasive Species

WATERWAYS THEATRE

Two presentations with the thirst covering the management of invasive species, in general and the second part being a case study looking at British Canoeing's Floating Pennywort Project.

How Canal & River Trust Handles Day To Day Water Management

WATERWAYS THEATRE

This presentation will explain the way the Trust delivers day to day water management to ensure all current and future demands for water for the 200 year old canal network can be met, utilising supplies from over 70 reservoirs, 150 abstraction points and over 60 pumping stations. It will explore the complex challenges of maintaining water levels in the face of future pressures such as climate change, funding, asset deterioration, new legislation as well as changes in patterns of usage of the network, for both powered and unpowered navigation.

The citizen science approach for gathering data in the aquatic environment

WATERWAYS THEATRE

The talk will provide an overview of existing citizen science projects that undertake surveys across a range of habitats and species. It will highlight the important role that citizen scientists can make in gathering data that might otherwise be missed by more standardised monitoring approaches.

Digital tools for interactive community engagement in urban water management

WATERWAYS THEATRE

Digital tools for interactive community engagement in urban water management
Urban water management needs to move towards more distributed, nature-based local solutions. To achieve this requires support from residents and communities. In contrast, funding these approaches requires demonstrations to stakeholders of the impact of such solutions on the city scale.

Digital tools are a key element in meeting both these needs. CAMELLIA, a UK research project, is employing participatory engagement using a systems approach, based on environmental science to improve water management in London. Informed by social science methods, digital tools have been developed as part of a co-design process and in response to observed needs. Descriptions of these are provided along with their implementation, performance, and long-term availability.

Waterways Theatre Day 2 -

We are currently working our way through this year's talks and seminars will be updated as we go. If you would like to talk at the show, or have an interesting case study to share, then please get in touch with Jon Irwin at jon@indigomediagroup.co.uk 

Optimising and protecting waterways using smart technology

WATERWAYS THEATRE

With polluted from sewage spills to plastics making the news headlines, this paper shows the application of lightweight retrofit pollution control devices (PCD) and sewer flow regulators to reduce the incidents of pollution in our waterways and receiving waters.

Calibration Free pH Sensing in Demanding Aqueous Media

WATERWAYS THEATRE

The application of digital and data driven solutions has revolutionised business operations and processes across countless industries in recent years, and now the environmental sector is ready for these systems. There are numerous opportunities to save money by using smart technologies to improve understanding of environmental impact, asset management and process optimisation.

The determination of pH is extremely important for the water industry, both for water treatment, management and supply and for environmental monitoring.

Currently, the most common pH sensing systems are based on potentiometric devices, which require regular recalibration because of instability and/or drift. In this work, we present a calibration free electrochemical pH sensor

The Inland Waterways Association and why the Fund Britain’s Waterways campaign is so important for all of us

WATERWAYS THEATRE

Thanks to a large extent to the millions of hours of volunteer time that have been contributed since the Second World War, our inland waterways are a wonderful national asset that attracts minimal national funding but produces significant benefits for us all. This is now under threat. Government now intends to reduce funding to a level that threatens everything that has been achieved. IWA and over 100 other organisations have come together in Fund Britain's Waterways to try to ensure our waterways are protected.

Modelling the freshwater River Thames

WATERWAYS THEATRE

Atkins, working with Thames Water, has developed an InfoWorks ICM 1D water quality model of the River Thames. The model extends from Lechlade in the upper Thames to Teddington Lock – covering the majority of the freshwater river. The model has been developed to be used as a key tool in assessing various Strategic Water Resource Options from a hydrological and water quality perspective. This includes the South East Strategic Resource Option (SESRO), which could be built in the Upper Thames catchment, south west of Abingdon in Oxfordshire. It would be filled with water from the River Thames during periods of high river flow. When river levels drop or demand for water increases, water would be released back into the River Thames for re-abstraction downstream. This presentation will give an overview of the development and use of the model.