The top prize in a competition to find innovative ways to tackle flooding focusing on the Eden catchment in Cumbria has been awarded to Jeremy Benn Associates and Lancaster University.

The competition saw experts across the world make use of some of the 13,000 datasets released by Defra, including river flow and levels and historic rainfall patterns from the Met Office.

The winning entries will now help development of the Cumbrian Pioneer Project, one of the four new trailblazing projects the government will be launching as part of its forthcoming 25 Year Plan for the Environment.

Floods Minister Thérèse Coffey said:

“I would like to congratulate all the winners of our Cumbria Flood Modelling Competition and thank them for taking time to help with a hugely important issue.

“This competition has been a fantastic opportunity to benefit from the wisdom and creativity of floods experts from around the world. We will now be able to use these new ideas and insight to help better protect not just Cumbria’s people, businesses and infrastructure from flooding but communities across the nation.”

Jeremy Benn Associates and Lancaster University’s entry champions the use of new data and whole-catchment modelling to generate a much wider range of realistic extreme event scenarios than is normally used.
Proposed measures include:

• Natural flood risk management, including large scale flood storage in the lower catchment
• Improved interpretations of flood warnings.
• Interactive maps showing property-level impacts based on detailed models.

Barry Hankin, Head of Environmental Modelling at Jeremy Benn Associates, said:

“It is a real honour to have received the top prize in Defra's competition. Our entry builds on over 10 years of academic research and industry innovation, combining advances in computer modelling and data analysis with local engagement.

“This prize money will help us to keep looking into flood risk management strategies that include both traditional and nature-based measures, and we're already engaging other river catchment areas to see how our modelling approach to the Eden can be applied elsewhere.”

Runners-up Innovation awards have gone to:
Dutch Consortium (Royal Haskoning DHV, Nelen and Schuurmans, Deltares, Delft University of Technology)
Sayers and Partners LLP and Horritt Consulting (Paul Sayers and Matt Horritt)
Durham University (Sim Reaney and Callum Pearson)

The Dutch entry concentrated on the benefits of integrated and collaborative working between partners and how modelling can be better used to understand how water flows through the catchment.
Sayers and Horritt’s entry looks at how modelling can mirror important aspects of the catchment in order to more accurately assess factors that affect flood risk.

Durham University’s entry supports modelling of map locations to assess where river management techniques could be better used to ‘slow the flow’.

The prize fund has been provided by United Utilities, Aviva and the Natural Environment Research Council (Nerc).

Waterbriefing is media partner with the Environment Agency’s major three-day conference and exhibition Flood and Coast 2017 which takes place from 28 to 30 March 2017 in Telford. Click here for more information