What is FDRI and why does it matter?

We need smarter monitoring to help us understand and prepare for floods and droughts

Monitoring is crucial to enabling effective research and decisions for flood and drought management. But, we know the hydrological community faces significant challenges in generating, accessing, using and understanding monitoring data.

Funded by the Natural Environment Research Council, FDRI is filling the gaps in how we measure floods and droughts through:

  • Innovative, cost-effective monitoring, generating high-resolution, near real-time hydrological data, at a whole-system level
  • Targeted training and development for the hydrological community
  • Open air laboratories to test future monitoring approaches

Providing the insights we need, to fuel the decisions we need, to protect UK communities and save money. 

What will FDRI enable?

Hydrological modelling
Improved accuracy in early warning systems
Data to calibrate, benchmark and create models which better protect communities, agriculture and industry.
Caution flooding sign
Research which delivers resilience
Tools for researchers to better understand catchment responses in extremes, informing innovation in mitigation and adaptation.
Wetland at sunset
Evidence for water management solutions
Insights to test, evidence and verify the efficacy of solutions, from natural flood management to AI optimisation of water use in farming.

Q&A

Who can use FDRI - and what is the hydrological community?

FDRI is an open access project: the digital platform and mobile monitoring equipment will be available to all, for free. Due to space and equipment restrictions, we are working through how we provide access to mobile monitoring equipment and FDRI monitoring sites efficiently.

The hydrological community consists of everyone with an interest in floods and droughts, from researchers, to local governments and citizen scientists. Within this community, we expect primary users of FDRI to be:

  • Hydrologists who use environmental data and monitoring equipment in their day to day roles. This includes for modelling and analysis in research, understanding risks and management of hydrological extremes.
  • Students and teachers, from postgraduate level to secondary schools. Institutions and individuals will be welcome to use FDRI for training purposes. This includes using physical sites for field trips, alongside data and interfaces on the digital platform for projects.
  • Monitoring innovators, who are interested in developing and testing new ways of understanding water, from research to industry contexts.
  • Regulators, national and local governments, steering decisions with insights directly from and enabled by FDRI, to strengthen responses to extremes. 

 

when will FDRI be delivered?

All our outputs will be completed by 2029. We are currently in the implementation phase of FDRI, from 2024 to 2029, with data, capacity building and monitoring equipment in delivery. 

Implementation delivery timeline 

[updates tbc - to be decided in new year]

Phases timeline

FDRI phases diagram

 

 

 

 

Where are the FDRI observatories?

Three complementary catchments (the land around a river that collects rain) were selected, encompassing common characteristics and challenges faced in flood and drought scenarios across the UK.

Find out more about the catchments here. [observatory pages to be updated]

who had a say in FDRI's design?

The FDRI team ran a scoping study, commissioned and funded by UKRI to determine requirements and rationale for the research infrastructure. 

  • We worked with key organisations from environmental regulators, to learned societies and hydrological initiatives to identify stakeholders, consulting over 780 individuals across the hydrological community
  • We used structured workshops, surveys and to understand user needs
  • You can read the full report here 

We continue to gather the community's views into the implementation phase, especially to build catchment monitoring designs within the observatories and understand user needs and experience for the digital platform. 

How can I get involved?

Visit our get involved page here to find out more about current events and opportunities.