Can you introduce EcoHydrology and describe the range of services you offer? 

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EcoHydrology Limited is a newly founded Scottish-based environmental consultancy that provides integrated services related to the protection, management, and enhancement of the water environment. We work in the key service areas of flood risk management, sustainable drainage (SuDS) design, peatland restoration, environmental impact assessment and construction environmental management. Our solutions intend to address the challenges posed by new development, land use changes and climate change.

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What motivated you to choose Flood Modeller when you founded EcoHydrology?

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I was previously experienced in using Flood Modeller, and as a new company looking to minimise upfront costs and with typically smaller projects, Flood Modeller were able to offer a helpful ‘Lite’ subscription package that enabled us to get started. We find the software to have a very user-friendly interface, similar to the GIS platforms we use more regularly, which expedites learning and processing.

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What specific challenges does Flood Modeller address, and what value does it provide to you and your clients?

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Flood Modeller allows us to provide more detailed FRAs in areas where there is typically a recorded risk of fluvial or surface water flooding, either within or adjacent to the proposed development site. Typically, planning is initially informed by low-resolution online flood mapping, and Flood Modeller allows us to robustly assess the accuracy of this mapping and, hence, better inform the suitability of a specific development. This commonly occurs with surface water flooding, which can often be misrepresented in online mapping due to a lack of inclusion of drainage networks and barriers to surface water flow paths that are not detected by DTMs.

 

Having used Flood Modeller for various projects, what features do you find make it stand out from the other hydraulic modelling software?

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We have found the 2D modelling, hydrology flow estimation and flood mapping visualisation tools to be very useful in providing in-depth analysis and presenting results in a clear and engaging manner. In particular, with the growing availability of free high-resolution LiDAR data, we have found the software to be very useful for quick assessments of conservative flood risk extents to aid our client’s strategic decision-making on potential development sites.  

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