Two of our Graduate Hydraulic Modellers recently attended the CIWEM Rivers and Coastal Group Responsible Water Management Study Weekend that took place in Durham.
Lydia Crowther and Hanna Kugachandran joined 25 other delegates for a weekend of lectures, case studies, networking and site visits with a particular focus on natural flood management and sustainable drainage systems.
The weekend kicked off on Friday afternoon with an opportunity for the delegates to have a 1-2-1 meeting to gain some independent guidance for working towards CIWEM chartership.
Saturday the delegates had the chance to listen to professionals from across the industry, including consultancy, academia and water companies. presenting case studies of responsible water management from projects across the UK.
The weekend agenda included a range of topics such as Blue-Green Cities, integrated catchment management, climate change adaptation, flood forecasting, and water for power.
Sunday included a visit to Witton Gilbert Flood Alleviation Scheme, Ouseburn Urban SuDS and Ouseburn Natural Flood Management.
Hanna said ‘“‘The Witton Gilbert FAS site visit was a great opportunity for a new graduate in the industry to see how modelling can be translated into a design project. Also, as a Postgraduate student at Newcastle University I had previously been introduced to the SuDs in the Ouseburn, a year later, it is remarkable to see SuDs research progress and innovative ideas come together to tackle water quality and flooding issues in Newcastle.”
Lydia commented “The study weekend was an inspiring experience as I was able to hear and learn about important environmental projects other consultancies are working on as well as the how responsible water management is evolving to tackle water issues of today and the future. It was an excellent weekend and I would recommend it to any everyone starting out their career in water management.”