Information and tools to help us work together better

By coming together to work across the water catchment we can work more efficiently and collaboratively on a day-to-day basis and during flood incidents and maximise flood risk benefits in South Yorkshire.

To do this effectively we must make the best use of our resources, evidence and technology. Together we are gathering our collective data and evidence about the catchment and exploring innovative ideas, new technology and networks to support our operations and inform future investment and interventions.

A group of people working together. One is writing on flipchart paper.
Members of the partnership working together – Credit: Connected by Water

You can read about our current projects below.

Multi-agency flood and emergency dashboard

It is vital that organisations preparing for and responding to emergencies, including flooding, can access up to date, relevant information when required. City of Doncaster Council has developed a successful dashboard which brings together a range of data in one place. It helps us to understand better how water levels move through the catchment during a flood event and can also be used during other emergencies.

By working to roll out secure dashboard access to multiple agencies across the region we aim to put in place a shared resource allowing us to visualise resilience risks before, during and after emergency events across South Yorkshire.

Vulnerable people can be particularly at risk in flooding and other emergencies. Working with the Local Resilience Forum and Integrated Care Board we are developing an approach to securely share information to provide targeted support to vulnerable people during a major incident response.

A still image from an online system showing river levels, flood alerts and warnings.
Multi-agency flood and emergency dashboard – Credit: City of Doncaster Council

Environment Agency Stakeholder & Beneficiary Mapping Tool

This national mapping tool will bring together a range of information which will help the Environment Agency, local authorities and other organisations responsible for managing flood risk work together better. In particular it will help when developing schemes and identifying stakeholders and potential beneficiaries and investors. You can see some of the datasets that the tool will bring together in the diagram below.

Connected by Water have been working with the Environment Agency to ensure that our region will be able to make the most of this tool, as we develop projects which will help reduce the risks of flooding.

A still image from an online tool showing a map of England and the option to add different layers of data.
Stakeholder beneficiary mapping tool – Credit: Environment Agency

Adaptation Pathways

Climate change is happening now, and its impacts will continue to worsen. We need to take action to plan for and adapt to future flooding and coastal change. However, we also know that changes to climate science, growth projections, investment opportunities and our local environment will continue to take place.

An adaptation pathway is an approach that allows decision-makers to take actions under uncertainty. It enables the identification of actions that can be taken now and in the future.

South Yorkshire is part of the Environment Agency’s £8m national Adaptation Pathway Programme (2021-27). The Connected by Water alliance are working closely with the Environment Agency to investigate how an adaptation pathway approach could be applied to address river flooding at catchment level in South Yorkshire.

As well as examining how long-term planning and decision making could be undertaken, this pilot project will help us to visualise what different futures could look like. This in turn will help to inform how we respond and manage the effects of climate change, including our priorities for projects and interventions and how we can work together to implement them.

You can find out more about Adaptation Pathways, including in South Yorkshire in this video.