Society both depends upon and affects every stage of the water cycle.

The diagram below features many ways in which we are working with natural processes to manage water in a sustainable way.

• Healthy peat bogs store water and carbon.
• Low-intensity grazing by both sheep and cows helps keep vegetation on valley slopes and reduces water run-off, with better benefits for flood risk, water quality and wildlife.
• Trees and woodlands on slopes help reduce surface water flow and lower the risk of flooding further downstream.
• Soil erosion is reduced by ploughing across the slope rather than up and down it, and strips of grass along the edge of water courses intercept sediment and nutrients.
• Buildings built away from high flood risk areas, and homes and businesses use water wisely.
• Sustainable urban drainage systems in towns help reduce flood risk, and reed beds treat waste water.
• Bodies of water rich in wildlife.
• Gardens planted with drought resistant plants and fed by rainwater harvested from the roof of the house.
• Salt marsh around the coast reduces need for hard defences.
• Rivers allowed to flow along their natural course from source to sea and flood its floodplain, reducing the risk elsewhere.
• People enjoying access to water.

Download the full diagram (PDF / 370KB)