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The primary mission of the Centre for River Ecosystem Science (CRESS: http://www.cress.stir.ac.uk/index.html) is to build and translate scientific evidence into advice to end-users and policy makers in river management, both nationally and internationally. Site-based advice, design and monitoring have been provided to 55 projects, including award-winning river engineering schemes. Independently, our research in community ecology, fluvial geomorphology and agricultural pollutants has supported an outstanding contribution to the UKs response to the key EU Environmental Directives — Water Framework, Flooding, Species & Habitats and Bathing Waters. We have developed the official tools that are now used to determine the status of freshwaters and structure catchment management plans, and trained others in their use, have pioneered risk assessments and modelling of nutrient, pathogen or carbon losses, publicised their effects, scoped mitigation options though engaging with end-users, and steered the pan-European comparison of bio-assessment methods that now underpins common water policy.
Research by the University of Southampton into river processes and restoration has contributed significantly to the adoption of fluvial geomorphology as a tool for river management. The research quantified for the first time, the cost of sediment management in rivers to the UK economy and environment, arguing that improvements could be achieved by applying fluvial geomorphology. The research developed new evidence, tools and training that were adopted by river management agencies and consultants for the scoping, assessment and planning of projects. This has resulted in cost-savings through reduced river maintenance, improved river environments, and the creation of a new employment market for graduates with geomorphological training.
Thorne's research for the Flood Foresight project changed UK policy towards sustainable Integrated Flood Risk Management (IFRM), as implemented by the Floods and Water Management Act (2010). This legislation introduced new systems of governance to clarify responsibilities, support co-ordinated actions, strengthen the roles of local stakeholders, foster the co-production of knowledge, and work with natural processes. Flood Foresight has attracted international attention and stimulated projects and policy changes elsewhere, including in the Taihu Basin in China and around the city of Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia.
This research has demonstrated the effectiveness of an experimental method of public engagement - Competency Groups (CGs) - in situations in which the expertise involved in managing flood risk is called into question by the communities living with such risk. Working in two test areas (Ryedale, Yorkshire and the Uck catchment, Sussex) it has enabled novel research collaborations between scientists and concerned citizens that have generated bespoke flood models and new flood management options. The work of the Ryedale CG and the `upstream storage' proposals that it generated were incorporated into a successful multi-agency bid to a national competition launched by Defra for a project to test new flood management solutions for Pickering, and are now under construction in the catchment. Having become a national exemplar, the reach of the Competency Group approach in tackling public controversies about environmental expertise continues to extend beyond these two areas, within the UK and also abroad.
Our research and resulting impacts extend across a wide range of flooding problems, from localised urban floods to river bas in flooding. The under pinning research ranges from extending the evidence base, to improved rainfall estimates, and to advances in hydrological and hydraulic models. The impact of our research has been through the creation and application of new methodologies (e.g. AOFD) and software tools (e.g., TSRSim) for the design and analysis of flood management systems in the UK and internationally, via joint projects with consulting engineering companies, and through the influence of our research on national and regional policies towards improved land use management practices (e.g., Glastir, Wales).
Throughout the REF period our research - driven by risk assessment theory - has provided a continuously updated set of unique models, data and techniques for assessing the benefits of UK flood alleviation investment. These have been used to justify all flood alleviation investment for the whole of the UK for the whole of the REF period (c. £3bn), as well as for the previous 30 years. Our work has been central to all assessments by Defra and the Environment Agency (EA) of national flood risk (Foresight; NaFRA (England, Wales, and Scotland); LTIS) and all the Catchment Flood Management Plans for England and Wales. The research is also used in Scotland (by the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, SEPA), by international and national insurers (e.g. through Risk Management Solutions Ltd), and in many other countries.
Exceptional rainfall in June 2007 lead to widespread flood damage in the UK; Hull was particularly badly affected with 8600 houses and 1300 businesses flooded, the closure of schools and cancellation of many events. At the instigation of the City Council, Hull University geographers produced two influential reports that explained how and why the flooding happened and what might be done to improve flood readiness for the future.
The reports had impact at a national scale. They fed into the findings of the House of Commons Select Committee on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (published 7 May 2008) and the Pitt Report (a Government Independent Review, published 25 June 2008), which were both tasked with addressing the summer 2007 floods. Significant elements of `The Flood and Water Management Act' (2010), which was enacted subsequently, were informed by our research.
The reports also impacted at the regional scale. Their findings were adopted by Hull City Council, the Environment Agency and Yorkshire Water. Therefore, our research also shaped several practical strategies to improve flood prevention policies and minimise danger, damage, distress and expense in future floods.
Improved flood risk modelling based on the application of research led by Keith Beven at Lancaster has had global impacts in improved flood defence policies and planning by governments, and in assisting insurers with their underwriting (for example in pricing and policy decisions). The benefits are not just financial — they are human too: improved understanding of flood risk and resilience protects life and assets, and has a positive impact on the well-being of many of those at risk. These impacts are at the centre of flood risk management across the UK, are being applied in nine other European countries, and now becoming the methods of choice for flood mapping in developing countries such as Thailand.
New approaches to analysing and modelling water systems, developed at Cardiff, have driven national policy changes to improve the proportion of fully functioning water ecosystems in the UK. UK Government, Welsh Government and a range of NGOs have adopted these new approaches, which replace traditional descriptive methods with experimental, analytical and modeling techniques for understanding water ecosystems.
These approaches have been used to develop the water-related component of the National Ecosystem Assessment. This document has directly impacted on UK river management policy, forming the basis of two Defra White papers, `Natural Choice' and `Water for Life', underpinning Welsh Government's Natural Environment Framework and informing the work of a range of NGOs.
Professor Gowing and his associates' research demonstrated the sensitivity of grassland species to soil moisture regime. They developed a method for quantifying the relationship between plant community composition and soil moisture regime which showed that controlling water levels in traditional ways led to conservation of important plant species and/or enhanced diversity. This research led to the Environment Agency issuing practical guidelines to site managers for these internationally important sites, with a lead section written by Gowing. Advice has been given directly to owners and managers via the Floodplain Meadows Partnership led by the OU, engendering parallel studies abroad.