Impacts of climate change and land use on groundwater quality - Phase 2

The aim of this project is to improve our understanding of the impact of climate and land use change on groundwater quality in England and make projections on the state of these impacts in the future. The project will help us understand the key risks and its impacts in the long term and inform how we can adapt to climate and land use change impacts on groundwater quality.

This is the second phase of this project, following the initial scoping study.

In the first phase we highlighted how currently there is an international focus on climate change impacts and the need to adapt, shown with the organisation of COP26 last year. The Environment Agency's adaptation report makes the urgent case for taking strong action now, because the reality is that significant climate impacts are inevitable despite all the measures that are in place. It is important that we optimise the regulatory tools available for managing and protecting groundwater quality (Environment Agency, 2021b).

For this phase of the project, we aim to develop datasets and tools that can be used for decision making around climate change and groundwater quality. We also aim at looking into new and improved ways to engage with the public to bring a better understanding about groundwater.