We are excited to announce that Chris Packham CBE will be attending the 2025 event and speaking on the first day. Chris is a naturalist, nature photographer, television presenter and author, best known for his television work.
Chris Packham said "I am very excited to be attending this year’s Waterways Management Show. Its creative and forward thinking approach is not only timely - it is essential. We are crashing into a crisis and water management will be central to mitigating its impacts.
Only through constructive discussion and the sharing of ideas and skills will we maximise our capacity to adapt and survive . And obviously water is central to life and its sustenance and the mismanagement of our rivers has put it front and central of peoples environmental concerns.
We have to get water management right and this forum offers a real chance for progress".
Waterways Management Show
This year we are delighted to announce that the Environment Agency will have a stand at the show, as will the Wildlife Trusts; Chris Packham will be speaking in one of the theatres. Southern Water and Anglian Water will also have stands and will be speaking at the show. Managing the waterways and wetlands is such an important part for natural flood management.
Floodex, National Drainage and the Waterways Management Show are three aspects of an overarching event, where these areas overlap in contributing to water level management and flood defence. The event is made up of nearly 100 exhibitors, with products, services and advice, whilst three seminar theatres will host various presentations. One of these is a dedicated, two-day SuDS Theatre, reflecting the importance of SuDS moving forward.
It is no secret that weather incidents, especially around water, are becoming more regular and more serious. And it’s not just overflowing rivers, 70% of flood incidents are caused by surface water runoff and blocked or inefficient drainage systems. Rainwater runoff is carrying pollutants into our of our waterways from highways, especially during excessive rainfall.
There are a wide range of solutions being pursued, including rehabilitation of existing but ageing drainage and sewer systems through to natural water level and flood management, with Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SuDS) becoming more widely used.
SuDS quite often takes the form of plants and trees being installed by qualified contractors, in affected areas, to help soak up rainwater, but they also serve to make these areas more green and appealing, so a great solution, in some instances.
Planners and developers need to make a note, as it could be, in the not too distant future, that you may not get planning approved, without showing evidence of sustainable drainage being adopted. For people who want to borrow against property, flooding could affect lending decisions, because insurers may be taking a longer term view of risks from flooding.
The Future Water Association will be featuring the Water Dragons again, where people present innovative ideas for a panel of experts to judge. Water Dragons is a Future Water initiative aimed to support and develop the creative and future entrepreneurs of the water sector. United Utilities will be exhibiting and presenting, along with some very notable speakers, across the board..
Women in FCERM will be having a networking event at the end of day one and we are delighted that Anglian Water and Southern Water will both be exhibiting and speaking.
Since launching Floodex in 2016, the organizers have always had the idea that an event should be staged that takes a more holistic approach to flooding and water level management, which is why the National Drainage Show was launched as a natural colocation and Waterways Management after that, which partly covers the catchment issues as well as the health and management of the waterways themselves. See www.waterwaysmanagementshow.com for further information.
New Trade Show For Civil Engineering
A new event has got the industry buzzing, Indigo Media & Events (IME) are launching what will be the only trade show for the civils industry, in the UK. The National Civils Show will run co-located with the National Drainage Show and Floodex in 2025.
The National Civils Show is an annual trade event to be held in London, dedicated to suppliers of products and services around the civil engineering market and allied trades. It serves as a platform for industry professionals to exchange knowledge, showcase the latest technology, products, services and innovations.
An annual gathering of professionals and decision makers, coming together to see what their industry has to offer, whilst networking with peers, learning from experts and gaining CPD hours into the bargain.
The event managers of the National Civils Show both have more than 25 years each in the trade show business, which includes the UK Concrete Show at the NEC and launching Concrete Expo, which ran alongside UK Construction Week at Excel. Other events have featured plant and equipment hire, offsite construction, wood machinery, flooding, drainage and waterways management.
Eddie Milton, IME Director, said “Over the last few years, we have been approached on several occasions, to create a dedicated trade event for the civils industry; we are delighted to announce that it has finally been created and scheduled to run 26th - 27th November 2025, at a world class venue in London - Excel.
Indigo Media & Events Ltd (IME) is a trade show and conference organizer.
Contact: Eddie Milton Managing Director eddie@indigomediagroup.co.uk
Mob: +44 (0) 773 941 9797