One event for waterways, flooding & drainage

Floodex has been running for the last seven years and is supported by organisations such as: Environment Agency, CIWEM, CIRIA, Future Water Assoc and many others

Engage with experts and consultants, harvesting advice on what you could and should be doing. Talk to the people and organisations on the exhibition stands, who can help you deliver your planned solutions with the latest equipment, technology, services and knowledge.

Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SuDS)
If you have an interest in new buildings & developments, this will be of particular interest, with the implementation of Schedule 3 to The Flood and Water Management Act 2010, which becomes mandatory in 2024. Our two-day SuDS Theatre will be the place to access swathes of information on SuDS, how it works, the responsibilities and how to plan.
    
It seems from 2024, SuDS will be mandatory for most new construction in England and will require a SuDS-specific authorisation by the SuDS Approval Body (“SAB”) prior to construction starting (even where planning permission is not required).
    
There was a review that asked to identify the benefits and impacts of making sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) mandatory for new development to ensure that its implementation will help address the pressures of climate change, increasing population and urbanisation whilst achieving multiple benefits, such as reducing surface and sewer flood risk, improving water quality, and harvesting rainwater to meet current and future needs.
    
Network with your peers, find out what their plans are and share ideas. There’s a lovely quote attributed to George Bernard Shaw: ‘If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange apples, we still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange ideas, we each have two ideas.’
    
The Waterways Management Show will be a must attend event for anyone working within organisations around the planning, maintenance and management of rivers, canals, lakes, reservoirs, estuaries and marinas. This includes local authorities as well as commercial enterprises and volunteers. There will be a wide range of CPD-accredited seminars, hosted by expert speakers, to attend free of charge to complement the exhibition stands and special features.
    
One of the presentations will be from Canal & River Trust, which is about the Canal & River Invasive Species Eradication Project, which we hope many will find interesting. There is a two-day SuDS Theatre, a Floodex Theatre, which will be mostly Environment Agency presentations on the first day and a two-day Waterways Management Theatre.
    
Canal & River Trust will have a stand at the show, with a working model and will be presenting in the Waterways Theatre. This important support will help tremendously in raising the profile of this important event and make a valuable contribution to its content.
    
Apart from making a valuable contribution to water level management and thereby having a positive impact on flood incidents, there is a whole other world around our inland waterways, which embraces farming & estates, infrastructure, leisure facilities, real estate, flora, fauna and the general environment, that have an impact.
    
Other valuable contributors and supporters across the events include: Inland Waterways Association, Rivers Trust, Environment Agency, CIWEM, CIRIA with susdrain, Institute of Fisheries Management and CAMELLIA.
    
There has been fantastic interest in this new event, that we see as the ‘third leg of the stool’, having launched Floodex, then adding the National Drainage Show, to present an event that truly showcases a holistic approach to water level management and aims to gather most of the interested parties under one roof, on an annual basis.
    
Being colocated with Floodex, means many interested stakeholders will already be visiting, but this is an event for many that are focussed on management, upkeep and restoration of our inland waterways, such as rivers, canals, lakes and reservoirs, as well as the fens, the land that surrounds them and other lowlands.
    
The National Drainage Show is delighted to be sponsoring the National Drainage Awards this year, as the Wine Sponsor for the event.
    
The National Drainage Show (NDS) is now gaining some real traction, with more interest than ever, which includes companies booking early and some interesting new exhibitors to add to the mix. We really appreciate the valuable support of the NADC and Drain Trader magazine and are constantly looking for ways to make the event better.

UKTT Central To Trenchless Zone
One important addition that had been requested, was a dedicated area for trenchless technology. So, we created a Trenchless Technology Zone and, at the centre of that is the UKSTT.  We are delighted to welcome the Water Jetting Association (WJA) for the first time, who will be supporting the show and have a presence, with a stand on the floor.
    
The National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) will be presenting either their new recommendations, or an update on what the government has done since their last report. In the 2022 report, the NIC recommended stricter controls on new property developments. They said that nearly £12bn of investment in drainage infrastructure over the next thirty years will be necessary to stop thousands more homes and businesses from flooding, due to inadequate drainage. Hopefully, the new report will be available, by the time the show comes around and will make for an interesting presentation.

Event sits perfectly between two other shows
There is a lot more to come for the National Drainage Show, which has the added bonus of being sandwiched between the Homes UK Show and Futurescape, the commercial landscaping event, both of which will attract their fair show of developers, planners, contractors and local authorities, who will then be welcomed to come into our event, if interested.