Digging up trees and digging more drains isn't preventing floods.

In his latest Guardian article, George Monbiot investigates a 'major research programme, which produced the following astonishing results: water sinks into the soil under trees at 67 times the rate at which it sinks into the soil under grass. The roots of the trees provide channels down which the water flows, deep into the ground. The soil there becomes a sponge, a reservoir which sucks up water and then releases it slowly.'

RESTORE's Rivers by Design guide to river restoration for land-use professionals has had a few minor changes, including an update to the table showing the benefits of river restoration in the planning and development process.

The guide shows the crucial role planners, architects and developers the crucial role they can play in river restoratation. The document explains the contexty and need for river restoration and provides guidance on planing projects to make sure sustainable development is achieved.

More than a project report, the RESTORE Layman’s Report is an agenda setting document highlighting the achievements of RESTORE, while also looking beyond RESTORE and stressing the key policy and technical challenges that still need to be overcome to take river restoration forward. The report will provide a direction for future activities in the hope that these will be taken up by policy makers and river basin managers.

Download report: RESTORE Layman’s Report

Deliverables from the REFORM project: http://bit.ly/1eLW4Jm  including

• Measuring success of river restoration actions using end-points and benchmarking
• Hydromoprhology of European Rivers
• Impacts of hydromorphological degradation and disturbed sediment dynamics on ecological status
• Synthesis of interim results for practical application to support the compilation of the 2nd RBMPs
• Valuing the ecosystem services provided by European river corridors – an analytical framework
• Review on ecological response to hydromorphological degradation and restoration
• Review on pressure effects on hydromorphological variables and ecologically relevant processes
• Discussion Paper for Stakeholder Workshop on River Restoration to Support Effective Catchment Management
• Summary report REFORM stakeholder workshop
• Review on eco-hydromorphological methods

One in seven UK rivers currently have unsustainable amounts of water abstracted from them and  are now facing a 50% increase in abstraction if the Water Bill 2013-14 is passed.The bill is having its second reading in parliament today and modifications to abstraction licenses, main river maps and flood insurance for householders will be debated.