Reflections from the European Wastewater Management Conference

Highlights from Granville Davies

“A highlight of this week was our opportunity to profile the Mainstreaming NbS programme at the European Wastewater Management Conference in Telford, an event attended by over 400 water industry professionals.

I had the privilege of presenting to the conference session on Nature-based Solutions about our programme, how it originated and where it’s going, our wonderful partners, our emerging high level recommendations and the next steps as we moving into Phase 2 with our regional connectors.

Jack Spees also contributed to a fascinating panel discussion on partnerships and nature-based solutions, chaired by Jo Jolly (Ofwat Director of Environment and Innovation), and alongside Bridget Woods-Ballard from HR Wallingford and Matthew Whaley from the Greater London Authority. Jack’s shared some reflections on this discussion below.

One thing that really struck me from the conference was the number of speakers who referenced NbS and the gaining momentum behind increasing delivery of NbS. It was fascinating to hear about other innovation that is going on in the NbS space. One particular presentation that caught my eye was from Dr Tao Lyu at Cranfield University who discussed research that is being done on how constructed wetlands can remove PFAS (“forever chemicals”) from wastewater.”

Highlights from Jack Spees

After returning from another trip away, where I saw Rain Gardens and swales in Brussels (rather ironically on the hotest day on record), I was reflecting on NBS, and the role they can play in helping manage our water challenges. I then reflected on the European Waste Water Conference I attended the week before, and how it was so evident that MNBS is so important. There were numerous examples of successful NbS implementation as well as financial justification. But it’s still not the business as usual approach. This was highlighted in a discussion where someone asked how far along the NbS journey we are, for some near the end, but for others at the beginning, or not even started yet! Those who aren’t far enough along the journey are behind due to the barriers MNbS is seeking to break down. Those things are less technical, on the NbS front, and more about policy and regulation, common valuations, capacity, and the processes that solutions have to go through not fitting NbS.

It was also highlighted that we need to change our processes around NBS, as well as having to change how we describe and use NBS to achieve a “Business as usual” status.

My favourite single slide (see below, taken from Elliot Geen (Arup) presentation on NbS for CSO spill treatment in Wales), was the NbS dealing with CSOs and has a unique and highly valuable hydro graph compared to Grey solution. Storm tanks fill, and that is it, they are at capacity. Green solutions can have a much greater capacity due to the depression of flood peaks and extension of the events duration through the solution. Often an overlooked element of Green!