Project Groundwater will seek to understand the challenges from flooding that local people face and what measures are currently in place to support them. We will explore new flood management and prevention techniques and enable local communities to develop flood management plans for the future.
Communities will discover more about local groundwater and its flooding risk. They will be better prepared to manage flooding with alerts, shared knowledge and innovative ideas to help minimise disruption and damage. They will also learn how to make local areas more resilient to floods in the future.
Findings from Project Groundwater, which will include a study into the mental health impacts of flooding, are set to benefit up to 200 communities and 70,000 properties at risk of groundwater flooding across the region. Learning will also be shared nationally for the benefit of communities everywhere.
Project Groundwater has seven focus areas, allowing us to deliver a project that responds to the challenges facing those at risk of groundwater flooding.
As a project rooted in collaboration, we will seek to work with communities on each of these areas.
| Workstream | Aim |
| Engagement and Communications | To engage with communities and businesses across the pilot areas to ensure that the solutions developed are collaborative and accessible. This will increase understanding of groundwater flooding and ensure that the outcomes of the project are guided by the needs and wishes of our communities. |
| Monitoring | To understand and improve the monitoring of groundwater levels which could lead to flooding. This knowledge will help us understand groundwater flood risk in the Chiltern Hills and Berkshire Downs, support our modelling workstream and allow the project to find innovative solutions to managing groundwater flooding. |
| Modelling | To model and map groundwater flood hazard in areas of chalk and permeable superficial deposits (gravel) across the project area. Mapping will support actions to better manage flood risk, including works on the ground, planning decisions and a groundwater flood warning service. |
| Alerts | To develop a web-based flood warning service to alert communities to potential groundwater flooding incidents. Currently, there is no suitable service for communities that covers groundwater flooding. Warnings will support communities to better prepare and respond to groundwater flooding, reducing the negative impacts on physical and mental health. |
| Resilience | To research and test innovative methods for increasing resilience to groundwater flooding, including updates properties could install to increase resilience during flood events, methods to prevent groundwater flooding from reaching properties, and community resilience to withstand flood events. This will support the creation of a best practice toolkit for communities at risk of groundwater flooding. |
| Placemaking | To strengthen the consideration of groundwater in the planning system and develop ideas for nature-based solutions and Sustainable Drainage Systems with the project communities. This will support the creation of places that are more resilient to flooding. |
| Evaluation, Learning and Innovation | To ensure that innovation is a fundamental value across all workstreams in the project and that we are constantly evaluating our progress and learning from our work and our communities. This will support the project to have the best possible outcomes and forever change how groundwater flooding is managed. |
The Council will share its learning from Project Groundwater along the way so that other local authorities can adopt successful approaches to support their own communities, thereby increasing resilience to groundwater flooding nationwide.
Our partners
Project Groundwater is made up of a variety of partners whose expertise are contributing to the knowledge and delivery of the project.
Our partners are:
Aurora Engagements is a small, responsive and innovative consultancy working at the interface between academia and industry to deliver people-centric stakeholder engagement and social value advice to clients in the built environment. Aurora Engagements is responsible for leading the Engagement Workstream for Project Groundwater and working closely with Groundwork to deliver engagement activities.
AxiaOrigin is a values-driven management consultancy which specialises in solving complex strategic and analytical problems, through innovative and specialist approaches to analytics and data science. AxiaOrigin is leading the Evaluation, Learning and Innovation workstream for Project Groundwater, which aims to embed these core principles consistently across all workstreams of the project.
BGS are a world-leading independent research organisation providing objective, expert geoscientific data, information and knowledge. Having hydrogeology and groundwater modelling expertise, and as the supplier of the national groundwater flood forecasting service for the Flood Forecasting Centre, they will be helping to develop a groundwater flooding forecasting system which will support us in creating an early warning system to alert communities to groundwater flood risk.
The River Chess Smarter Water Catchment aims to protect the health of the Chess as a rare chalk stream, from conservation on the river to more sustainable water consumption catchment wide. As our two project areas overlap, we are working together on joint engagement opportunities and research.
Andrew Rainsford is an experienced project fund builder who habitually explores all issues of a potential project to enable maximum reach for funders. He works in a reactive and proactive capacity and endeavours to leave partner organisations with greater capacity than when he met them.
Project Groundwater is funded by Defra as part of the £150 million Flood and Coastal Resilience Innovation Programme which is managed by the Environment Agency. We work closely with them on the project, reporting our progress and ensuring we meet our targets.
Groundwork South works across the South of England to create stronger, healthier communities, responsible businesses and greater prospects for local people. For Project Groundwater, Groundwork South engages with communities to ensure that measures developed and activities undertaken are collaborative and participatory across the nine pilot areas.
Hertfordshire County Council is the local authority for one of our pilot communities, Kimpton. They support delivery and engagement in their region.
Lakeside Flood Solutions are a leading Supplier & Installer of Flood Defence Systems, operating across all sectors and offering complete product & service solutions from design, manufacture, supply and installation to ongoing maintenance agreements.
Lakeside Flood Solutions contributes insights into groundwater solutions from a Property Level Resilience (PFR) perspective based on their experience leading PFR projects for various Local Authorities nationwide.
Lakeside Flood Solutions contributes insights into groundwater solutions from a Property Level Resilience (PFR) perspective based on their experience leading PFR projects for various Local Authorities nationwide.
FloodMary is a flood consultancy business established by Mary Long-Dhonau OBE to champion property flood resilience. Having personally experienced flooding and having a wealth of experience supporting communities at risk of flooding and assisting people in their recovery, Mary supports the project in an advisory capacity
The Open University, located in Milton Keynes, is partnering with Project Groundwater as the academic institution to conduct empirical research on groundwater flood resilience. This partnership will enhance the research efforts in an area that has not been extensively studied.
Oxfordshire County Council is the local authority for one of our pilot communities, Hinksey Park. They support delivery and engagement in their region.
RAB was established in 2006 and are dedicated to increasing resilience and reducing flood risk. They lead the Resilience workstream for Project Groundwater; their role is to co-develop, test and implement cost-effective, innovative and appropriate Property Flood Resilience techniques and community measures that will improve community resilience to groundwater flooding.
Slough Borough Council is the local authority for one of our pilot communities, Colnbrook. They support delivery and engagement in their region.
The Thames Regional Flood and Coastal Committee (RFCC) brings together Lead Local Flood Authorities and independent members with the Environment Agency to ensure collaboration. We report our progress to them, ensuring we meet our targets.
Thames Water is the water company providing water and sewerage services to those in the Chiltern Hills and Berkshire Downs. As groundwater flooding often impacts sewer systems, Thames Water has partnered with Project Groundwater to support groundwater management opportunities.
Whitehouse Construction have over 45 years of experience in Civil Engineering, coupled with over 15 years of experience in Property Flood Resilience. Their expertise provides Project Groundwater with a practicable yet technical approach enabling communities to develop flood resilience.
JBA Consulting are a multi-disciplinary consultancy combining analytical, engineering, social and nature-inspired solutions and supporting our clients to adapt and build resilience to climate change both in the UK and worldwide. They have supported the Placemaking workstream of Project Groundwater, helping to understand how nature-based solutions can be used in groundwater risk areas, and reviewing how groundwater risk is dealt with through the planning system.
Jacobs aims to make the world smarter, more connected and more sustainable. They do this via consulting, technical, scientific and project delivery services. As Senior Supplier on Project Groundwater, they are leading the modelling, monitoring and warning workstreams, and providing advice on communications.