UK 3rd National Observers Group meeting
09:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
WSP House, 70 Chancery Lane, London, WC2A 1AF
The RainGain project:
The RainGain project is a joint Local Government Flood Forum / Imperial College London / UK Met Office / EU project (with 10 more partners from FR, BE and NL) to improve fine-scale measurement and prediction of rainfall and to enhance urban pluvial flood modelling and prediction. This will enable urban water managers to adequately cope with intense storms, so that the vulnerability of populations and critical infrastructure can be reduced. The project started in July 2011 and will run until June 2015.
Aim of the National Observers Group (NOG) meeting:
This meeting will provide an opportunity to learn more about the project, discuss key aspects of pluvial flood management, and find out about opportunities to get involved in the project. This is the third UK NOG meeting and will provide an update on progress to date, including:
- Results of the testing of an X-band weather radar in the heart of London
- Purchase and installation of X-band radars in other partner countries (BE, FR, NL)
- Development of software for generation of high-resolution rainfall estimates for the UK
- Development of tools for improving accuracy of rainfall estimates for urban applications
- Development of material for community engagement in local flood risk management
- Progress towards the development of surface water flood warning systems for UK cities
The audience will be around 40 specialists, practitioners, academics and local and central government policy‑makers.
Agenda:
- 09:30 – 10:00 : Arrival, Coffee and Tea
- 10:00 – 10:05 : Welcome and introduction- by Andy Johnston (Local Government Flood Forum)
- 10:05 – 11:15 : Progress to date and next steps for RainGain project – UK project partners (~15 min each):
- Marie-Claire ten Veldhuis – Project Manager, Technical University of Delft
- Jacqueline Sugier & Timothy Darlington – UK Met Office
- Susana Ochoa-Rodríguez & Čedo Maksimović – Imperial College London
- Andy Johnston – Local Government Flood Forum
- 11:15 – 11:30 : Coffee break
- 11:30 – 13:15 : Presentations by invited speakers (~25 min each):
- Ian Titherington, Cardiff County Council: Greener Grangetown, a partnership approach to sustainable drainage
- Alex Nickson, Greater London Authority: Involving Londoners in flood risk management
- Linda Speight, Scottish Environment Protection Agency: Implementation of a pilot urban flood forecasting system for the Commonwealth Games 2014
- Anthony Maguire, Dublin City Council: Implementation of a forecasting system for the city of Dublin
- 13:15 – 14:15 : Lunch
- 14:15 – 15:15 : Workshop session : business model and interface design for a local surface water flood warning system
- 15:15 – 15:45 : Conclusions & Close
Enquiries: Barry O’Brien - Tel. 020 7554 2800 - barry.obrien@lgiu.org.uk