Rising Waters: Adapting Transport Projects for Water Risk

Last updated: 12 May 2026

This session, part of the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority’s Environment Engagement Series, focused on how transport and infrastructure projects can better account for flood risk and surface water management.

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Project: Environment engagement series
Location: West of England
Theme: Infrastructure, Monitoring & evaluation, Nature & environment
Topic: Sustainable design
Resource type: Presentations
Resource level: Longer reads
Source: West of England Mayoral Combined Authority
Format: Webpage

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The event took place on 11 June 2025 and was sponsored by WSP. Speakers came from the Environment Agency, WSP, Network Rail, Robert Bray Associates and Bristol Avon Rivers Trust.

Colin Taylor (Environment Agency) set out the scale of current flood risk in the region, drawing on the impacts of Storm Bert in Keynsham, Yate and Chipping Sodbury, and the projected increase in extreme weather events.

Tom Overton (WSP) presented Westminster City Council's sustainable drainage masterplan as a case study in area-based, partnership-led SuDS delivery - covering how to link drainage solutions to existing capital programmes and why integrated planning matters.

Network Rail speakers covered the impacts of flooding across rail operations and surrounding land, with examples of catchment-wide approaches that involve neighbouring landowners and nature-based interventions.

Robert Bray Associates gave a detailed walkthrough of the SuDS design approach - what well-designed sustainable drainage looks like in practice, the most common implementation failures, and the benefits for communities and landowners.

Bristol Avon Rivers Trust presented an active project in South Gloucestershire analysing surface water run-off from roads to identify pollutants damaging local watercourses, and a road run-off tool being trialled to support mitigation design.