Presentations were given by senior national and local government officials from the UK and the four partner countries on the surface water flooding challenges that they face and how they are innovating to overcome them through, for example, the creation of water squares and green roofs and improved town planning.  

UK RainGain partners ICL, Met Office and LGFF then outlined progress to date in developing and piloting innovative technologies to improve the prediction and management of surface water flooding. 

The day concluded with a breakout discussion session on the way forward for surface water flood forecasting and warnings in the UK. The conclusions from this discussion will provide the basis for a new academic paper on the future of surface water flood forecasting and warning to be presented at an international summit in September.  

The programme, minutes, presentations and other reports from this meeting can be downloaded from the panel on the right hand side.  

Laurie Thraves (second from left to right) from the Local Government Flood Forum welcomes attendees and introduces speakers of first session: Dave Stewart from Torbay Council, Andy Lane from the National Flood Forecasting Centre, and Andy Johnston from the Local Government Flood Forum.

Dave Stewart from Torbay Council explains the risk of surface water flooding in Torbay and the way in which it is being managed