Rethinking catchment management in response to climate change

Phil Mulvey is part consultant, part contractor, part researcher and part entrepreneur but has always been a free thinker. In this Webinar he presents the argument that to better manage floods, we must focus on the upper catchment to reduce rainfall intensity and increase infiltration. Like in the UK, where farmers are paid to restore water meadows and wetlands, catchment management should prioritise water retention, slowing river flow, and recharging alluvium. Watershed management is becoming more challenging as catchments degrade and rainfall patterns shift to less frequent but more intense events, causing rapid runoff and floods, like the November 2022 flood in Eugowra.