LANDMARK (LAND MAnagement for flood RisK reduction in lowland catchments) will evaluate the effectiveness of realistic and scalable land-based NFM measures to reduce the risk from flooding from surface runoff, rivers and groundwater in groundwater-fed lowland catchments. We will study measures like crop choice, tillage practices and tree planting, that have been identified by people who own and manage land, to have the greatest realisable potential. NFM measures will be evaluated for their ability to increase infiltration, evaporative losses and/or below-ground water storage, thereby helping to store precipitation to reduce surface runoff and slow down the movement of water to reduce peak levels in groundwater and rivers. However, we need to carefully examine the balance between increased infiltration, soil water storage and evaporative losses under different types of NFM measures, because long-term increases in infiltration could actually increase groundwater and river flood risk if there is less capacity within the ground and in rivers to store excess precipitation from storm events. Also, following a review of the available research to date, other researchers (Dadson et al, 2017) came to the conclusion that land-based NFM measures would only provide effective protection against small flood events in small catchments. As the catchment size and flood events increase, the effectiveness of land-based NFM measures in reducing flood risk would decrease significantly. However, this idea needs to be tested further. Currently, there are many unanswered gaps in knowledge that make it hard to include land-based NFM measures in flood risk mitigation schemes. The Environment Agency tell us that there are no case studies on land-based NFM measures to support decision making, with most focusing on leaky barriers made from trees. Yet, land-based NFM measures have potential to do more than just reduce flood risk, including improving water quality, biodiversity and sustainable food and fibre production. So in LANDMARK, we will carry out research to help to fill this evidence gap, and test the ideas Dadson et al. proposed about land-based NFM using the West Thames River Basin as a case-study area. We will work at three spatial scales (field, catchment and large river basin) and explore modelling scenarios, developed with people who own and manage land and live at risk of flooding, to look at how land-based NFM could affect flooding. Scenarios will include experiences in the recent past in July 2007 and over the winter of 2013-14, and how future land use and management could affect flood risk in 2050 as the climate changes. We will consider how government policy could change after we leave the EU to support land-based NFM. Work will be carried out in five stages: (1) we will bring together available maps, data and local knowledge on current land use and management, and use this to create scenarios for modelling experiments to explore land use and management measures impact on events from the past and in the future; (2) we will make measurements to see how below-ground water storage and infiltration vary between different land-based NFM in fields where innovative land management is being practiced; (3) we will collect data from sensors sitting above the ground, flying on drones and on satellites to see how vegetation and soil moisture vary across large catchment areas; (4) we will use all the data collected from 1-3 to run modelling experiments across a range of scales, linking together models that capture soil and vegetation processes, overland and groundwater flows and catchment hydrology, exploring variation in model outputs; and (5) we will create web applications to display and explore the outputs from the modelling experiments. All this work will be supported by workshops, field visits, reports and resources to support people and their learning about how land-based NFM measures work and could be used to reduce flood risk.

The resilience of water systems in the context of climate change, weather extremes, planning and operational decisions is crucial for water infrastructure service delivery and environmental management. In the UK, water systems are under extreme pressure from exceptional droughts like in the summer of 2022, or challenges to manage sewage spills. At the same time, the latest report on river water quality shows that only 14% of rivers in England meet good ecological status. Thus, there is a need to develop resilience assessments to address interlinked challenges of water systems and the environment. This project addresses a critical knowledge gap: What are resilience scenarios for integrated water systems (RIWS) that can be used to evaluate resilience metrics for various stressors, across system components and to inform adaptive planning? The development of RIWS will be supported by the novel Water System Integration Modelling Framework (WSIMOD) developed at the Imperial College London that will be integrated with the DAFNI platform. WSIMOD's flexibility in integrating numerous water system interactions (rural-urban, water supply-wastewater and flow-water quality) and representing a range of water management options with fast simulations times using primarily publicly available data outstand it as an ideal modelling tool for assessing the resilience of integrated water systems. Novel resilience metrics that combine concepts of a critical threshold in performance data with performance metrics evaluation will be informed by Greater London Authority, Thames and Affinity Water and Environment Agency's engagement through participatory workshops. Stressors will be defined as acute (e.g., component failure) and chronic (e.g., climate change) disruptions. The RIWS project aims to develop scenarios that can provide evidence for water companies, planning authorities and environmental regulators on the feasibility of water systems adaptive planning when assessed by resilience metrics, such as structural options (e.g., wastewater treatment plant upgrade) or coordinated operational decisions (e.g., water supply and wastewater systems information exchange to manage river water quality). The project directly contributes to the 'Building a secure and resilient world' strategy focus on 'adaptation to change and robust decision making' and place-based resilience of integrated rural-urban water systems.

Groundwater is a hugely important natural resource, providing the majority of drinking water globally, some 35% of drinking water in the UK, and up to 80% in southern England. High frequency real-time systems are now widely used in water industry for water quality monitoring, however transient microbiological contamination is currently still monitored using traditional spot sampling and culturing techniques. The highly dynamic nature of microbiological contamination necessitates high frequency on-line monitoring for the optimisation of down-stream processes such as treatment and distribution. We propose to pilot and embed within the UK water industry the use of new fluorescence sensors to enable this. In addition, while it is generally understood that high levels of faecal contamination in groundwater may be accompanied by relatively high turbidity, this is often not the case, and depends on the source and pathway of faecal contamination in the subsurface. Differentiation of turbidity derived from aquifer material or induced by pumping and that derived from microbial contaminants has significant potential benefits to the water industry through treatment process optimisation. Water companies in England and Wales have invested £42 million on investigations into source water characterisation and treatment process optimisation from 2010 - 2015 (OFWAT 2009) but understanding transient microbial contamination remains a significant challenge. Recent NERC funded research on in-situ fluorescence spectroscopy, now a well-established technology, offers a highly sensitive method to achieve this for raw groundwater sources. Through a partner led process we have developed a proposal to pilot, embed and develop an implementation strategy for this technology that is relevant for the UK water industry, but is also highly relevant for international water and health sector organisations. As part of this proposal, placement activities within two UK water companies (Affinity Water and Wessex Water) will be carried out to i) pilot and embed the use of tryptophan sensor technology in the UK water industry for improved monitoring of microbiological contamination in vulnerable groundwater sources, ii) provide robust evidence on the suitability of the current turbidity trigger (1NTU) for groundwater quality assessments, iii) provide an implementation strategy for this technology within the UK water sector through user-led collaboration. This will be carried out though visits to all UK water companies to obtain feedback on how this could benefit and be implemented in different parts of the water sector and disseminate findings with potential new end users. Working with key partners from across the UK water industry, including water companies (Affinity Water and Wessex Water) and cross-sector organisations (UKWIR, Water UK and DWI), TryGGER aims to embed within the UK water sector the use of on-line sensors for monitoring dynamic microbiological contamination in groundwater sources for improved use of water resources and optimisation of treatment processes. The application of this sensor technology will be piloted in four case study sites in the UK, through placement activities undertaken by BGS scientist in water industry partners. These have been selected in consultation with water utilities to be representative of vulnerable groundwater settings, with wide applicability both within the UK context and globally. Importantly, a strategy for implementing the use of these sensors for raw water quality monitoring will be developed with end users from across the UK water industry as part of this proposal to enhance wider uptake of this technology. This proposal has the potential for far reaching impact in the UK water industry and further afield. Involvement of the main players in the water industry, as well as utility firms, from early on during proposal development this has ensured that is highly relevant to the end-user community.

London and the South-East is the economic 'powerhouse' of England contributing 40% of GDP. Currently there is a shortage of housing, particularly affordable homes, and 50,000 new homes per year are planned for London to 2036. The growing population of London and its planned housing require water to be supplied and flooding to be reduced as far as possible. However, the region is vulnerable to water shortages (droughts) and floods. In the spring of 2012 London was facing potentially its worst drought, with concerns whether Affinity Water could provide sufficient water for some Olympic events. By contrast, the prolonged rainfall that then fell over the summer caused localised flooding and the Thames barrier being closed twice. This swing, over half a year, from extreme shortage of water to excess highlights the major challenge London faces to manage the water environment. This challenge is likely to worsen with climate change alongside the expected economic growth of London and associated increase in population. It also shows how droughts and flooding are two ends of a hydrological spectrum, whose political oversight, i.e. governance, needs to be managed was a whole. It is this need for integrated, collaborative and appropriate management that lies at the heart of CAMELLIA. Focusing on London, CAMELLIA will bring together environmental, engineering, urban planning and socio-economic experts with governmental and planning authorities, industry, developers and citizens to provide solutions that will enable required housing growth in London whilst sustainably managing water and environment in the city. CAMELLIA will be led by Imperial College London, working in collaboration with researchers at University College London, the University of Oxford, and the British Geological Survey. The programme is supported by communities, policymakers and industry including: local and national government, environmental regulators, water companies, housing associations and developers, environmental charities and trusts. Ultimately, the programme aims to transform collaborative water management to support the provision of lower cost and better performing water infrastructure in the context of significant housing development, whilst improving people's local environments and their quality of life. The relationships between the natural environment and urban water infrastructure are highly complex, comprised of ecological, hydrological, economic, technical, political and social elements. It is vital that policy and management are informed by the latest scientific understanding of hydrological and ecological systems. However, for this knowledge to make a change and have an impact, it needs to be positioned within wider socio-technical and economic systems. CAMELLIA will provide a systems framework to translate Natural Environmental Research Council-funded science into decision-making. Enabling a range of organisations and people to contribute to, and apply systems-thinking and co-designed tools to create a paradigm shift in integrated water management and governance underpins CAMELLIA. This will achieve the goal of real stakeholder engagement in water management decisions and provide a template, not just for London's growth, but for other cities, regions and communities both nationally and globally. The proposed work programme consists of four work packages which address 4 key questions, namely: How to understand the system?; How to model the integrated system?; How to analyse that system?; How to apply this systems approach to create impact? To help focus these questions, four London based case studies are being used, each reflecting a key issue: Southwark (urban renewal); Thamesmead (housing development); Mogden (water infrastructure regeneration); Enfield (Flood risk and water quality). From these, an integrated systems model will be applied to the entire city in order to help guide policy, planning and water management decisions.