Managing Rainwater Where It Lands
Date: Tuesday, 6 October 2026
Please note, only registered delegates of the Congress are eligible to express interest in the Forum.
Whilst it is common to us all, rainfall patterns are rapidly changing worldwide. With the existential threat and impact of climate change, this forum will hear from representatives from nations who have successfully implemented progressive policy approaches to valuing this precious resource better where it lands – simultaneously addressing water scarcity and water excess issues (such as flooding and overflows), and lowering carbon footprints. Recommendations to deliver success at scale will be discussed, documented and fed back as part of the drive for action to reach the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Description
Through two sessions, delegates will collaborate to develop recommendations around rainwater management for large-scale success, which will be discussed, documented and fed back as part of the drive for action to reach the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The forum will provide delegates with the opportunity to share how their country’s policies fare with other nations and hear from leaders from nations whose policy approaches manage rain well where it lands. Speakers will be sharing the multi-layered benefits that source-control principles and policies can bring to rainwater, but also, how obstacles to better approaches were overcome, enabling implementation at scale.
Delegates should attend to learn what has worked where and help define the next steps for better rainwater management policies globally. Delegates will be able to collaborate with policy makers, experts from water, industry, and academia to help turn rainwater source-control principles into real, measurable policy change and implementation.
Objectives
- Learn about other nations rainwater management policy approaches.
- Hear how obstacles were overcome and what measurable benefits have been achieved.
- Create a shared commitment to challenge and endeavour to change current policies where rainwater management is currently focused on high carbon centralised and siloed solutions.
- Drive action via collaborative and impactful projects across two or three priority areas
Forum Session Schedule
| 10:30 – 12:00 | Session 1: Addressing water scarcity and water surpluses through managing rain where it lands |
| Welcome – Scene-setting and Delegate Interaction THE WORLD’S STRONGEST BROTHERS – “The Weight of Drinking Water Wasted” Keynote speech from UK Member of Parliament Julia Buckley |
| Presentations: Policy journeys from around the world 1- Australia and Belgium |
| Chair: Matt Wheeldon, Sustainable Solutions Director, Wessex Water |
| Speakers: Julia Buckley (UK Member of Parliament); Celeste Morgan (Arup Australia), Bert de WInter (de Watergroep, Belgium) |
| 12:00 – 13:30 | LUNCH |
| 13:30 – 15:00 | Session 1: Addressing water scarcity and water surpluses through managing rain where it lands |
| Presentations: Policy journeys from around the world 2 – USA and Germany |
Facilitated discussion: The obstacles to overcome to make legislative/regulatory reform, the evidence required to get there, crisis, public opinion, the benefits being released etc
|
| Chair: Matt Wheeldon, Sustainable Solutions Director, Wessex Water |
| Speakers: Paula Kehoe (USA); Dr Franziska Meizinger (Hamburg Water, Germany) |
