Innovation - Reclaim the Rain
The Reclaim the Rain project, run collaboratively by Norfolk and Suffolk County Councils, is testing new ways of sustainably managing and harnessing water in small rural locations particularly vulnerable to drought and surface water flooding. They aim to use findings from the project to shape national policies on water resilience.
How is the project improving community resilience?
To begin with, they are working with six communities to develop creative ways to improve resilience to flood and drought risk and maximise benefits to both.
The aim is for these communities to be pioneers, not only making themselves more resilient to flooding and drought, but helping shape new policy to improve water usage for everyone in Norfolk, Suffolk and nationwide. These communities will generate evidence on the effectiveness of Reclaim the Rain in providing unique water management schemes. This learning will help to develop future opportunities for similar funded schemes in rural communities.
Reclaim the Rain has the potential to achieve lots of other benefits as well, which could include supporting local environments, providing water for local people and businesses and creating a space for people in the community to take pride in.
What innovation does the project demonstrate?
Reclaim the Rain has adopted an innovative approach to flood risk management in seeking to demonstrate that there is value in flood water. A key part of their aims is to reuse the floodwater by capturing the water and using it as a valuable resource for agriculture, industry, local community facilities and more.
Reclaim the Rain is also using an innovative co-creation approach where they work with communities to find out what issues, opportunities and opinions matter to them most. They then design schemes for the people that will end up living and working with them. Effective community engagement, tailored to the characteristics of each catchment has been key to the success of this approach.
Case study example: Little Blakenham Village
A very water stressed catchment where intervention is being tailored to local needs and stakeholders.
One deliverable here has been a basin pressed into a landowner’s field to reduce flow in the existing channel. The excess water in the basin could then be pumped away by the landowner to benefit their family business growing water intensive hops.
They would have struggled to afford meeting their irrigation needs via other alternatives despite using efficient trickle irrigation techniques.
Find out more about all six of the Reclaim the Rain communities here
For further information about Reclaim the Rain:
Visit their project website
Keep up to date with the Reclaim the Rain Facebook page