Reclaim the Rain

From a destructive excess to a valued seasonal water resource: creating a new economic and social value for flood water across Norfolk and Suffolk.

Reclaim the Rain is aiming to test new ways of manging water sustainably in rural locations. To begin with, we will improve at least six communities’ resilience to flood and drought risk.

Through a holistic, partnership approach we will promote productive use of surface water runoff to reduce flood risk and support the local water resource needs. Flood water reuse by agriculture, industry or residents can increase resilience to climate change and benefit the environment.

Norfolk and Suffolk are in the driest part of the UK and as a result, suffer from both surface water flooding and water scarcity. Our innovative approach requires the active participation of local communities to develop the solution, introducing the concept of sustainable water management by increasing resilience to flood and drought risk in small rural communities.

The project seeks to use a combination of the following approaches:

• Reducing flood risk to the community using NFM and retrofitting SuDS or other similar appropriate measures.
• Reusing surface water runoff through water capture and reuse measures for use by Agriculture, industry, or the local community facilities to improve water security.
• Engaging with communities to gain their local knowledge and increase their resilience
• Maximising additional multi-purpose benefits for the environment and society.
• Providing evidence of the effectiveness and cost of holistic water management projects in rural towns and villages through ongoing monitoring.

We will facilitate the move from a focus on flood defence in the catchment to an emphasis on sustainable water management, which provides opportunities to provide water quality and socio-environmental gains.

Find out more about out project at our Reclaim the rain website.

Our chosen Communities

Norfolk Communities:

• Merton and Watton
• Thompson
• Woodton

Suffolk Communities:

• Little Blakenham
• Boxford
• Friston

Our project will

1. Deliver case studies from our selected communities that prove a new sustainable economic approach where flood water has value as a water resource and can generate investment in its management and reuse.
2. Improve the resilience of communities through practical action and by increasing their understanding of sustainable water management.
3. Produce an evidence base that justifies the inclusion of a sustainable water management approach in the national assessment process and makes the case for increased partnership funding from commercial organisations and communities.

How to get involved

If you would like to know more about our project, please visit www.reclaimtherain.org or email us at ReclaimtheRain@suffolk.gov.uk.

You can also sign up for our mailing list here Reclaim the Rain - Mailing List (office.com) for project progress updates.

How our project is testing innovation

Our project will explore the benefits of treating flood water as a resource. Not only could this unlock further benefits to the environment, society and the economy, it could provide the blueprint for a better funding formula which allows communities to become more water resilient in the future.