The aim of the Rivers & Coastal Group (RCG) is to improve understanding and sustainable management of rivers and coastal environments. We will do this by:
Our work will support and enable the CIWEM vision of “A world in which professionalism and excellence build connections to inspire widespread, impactful water and environmental solutions”.
We will work in line with the values and principles of the CIWEM Strategy: People, Planet, Possibility.
If you are already a member of CIWEM, you can join RCG by logging into ‘My CIWEM’, clicking ‘Special Interest Groups’ and ticking ‘Rivers & Coastal’. This means you will receive our email updates
You can follow our current discussions and activities by joining our group on LinkedIn
You can email us at rcggroup@ciwem.org.uk.
Here is our committee for 2026. We renew the positions at the end of each year in line with the CIWEM timetable. We are always looking for new people to join and bring new perspectives and ideas to keep us growing and diverse.
Chair
Vice Chair
Junior Vice Chair
Hon. Treasurer
Hon. Secretary
Immediate Past Chair
Coastal Rep
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We are always keen to have new people join the Committee. Vacancies are sent to River and Coastal Group members via email. There are usually vacancies each year as existing members move on, so please get in touch as soon as you are interested.
You can also get involved without having to formally join the Committee, by organising or hosting a local event or webinar for RCG members. Please get in touch at rcggroup@ciwem.org.uk.
Each year, we host three events as well as a variety of webinars and site visits. We are always open to suggestions for topics, speakers and locations, so please contact us with any ideas – we’d love to hear from you: rcggroup@ciwem.org.uk
On 07 March 2025 we hosted the first RCG Technical Conference in over a decade to mark 75 years of the RCG. It was a great success, with presentations, panel discussions and workshops to an almost sell-out audience. Our theme was uncertainty, and all sessions wove in the golden thread of overcoming the challenge of uncertainty in putting policy into practice. We talked about a wide variety of topics including changing coasts, property insurance and data quality. View the agenda here.
Our next conference is 06 March 2026, where we will be ‘Standing up for our rivers and coastlines’ in London. We’ll be talking about building resilience into river and coastal management, thriving catchments and coasts, people and social value. View the agenda here.
2025 RCG Technical Conference at Arcadis, London
The Rivers and Coastal Group Study Trips bring together river and coastal professionals, both current and aspiring CIWEM members, for a mix of lectures, workshops, site visits and social activities. They are informative, educational and good fun is always had by all! In previous years we have run a mix of local and international visits, including Leeds, Durham, Lancaster and The Netherlands.
On our last Study Day in October 2025, we visited a reservoir under construction. It was a fascinating day learning about reservoir engineering, water resource needs, planning requirements, community engagement and using construction for a whole host of opportunities including biodiversity gain and local employment. Plus, plenty of time to chat and make connections.
For 2026, we are hoping to create a network of local study days jointly with branches. If you would like to suggest a location, please get in touch.
If you have any suggestions for future study days, please get in touch at rcggroup@ciwem.org.uk.
Leeds, 2022
The Netherlands, 2019
In 2023 and 2024, we co-hosted a day of the conference with The Rivers Trust. This was usually focused on Nature-based solutions, collaborating with The Rivers Trust to find and book speakers, plan workshops and chair panels.
From 2025, the format changed and instead of having a single day, the RCG is involved in aspects of all three days, including helping to judge submissions and running or facilitating workshops. We continue to input into the themes, planning and facilitating on the day.
RCG Workshop, F&C 2023
In addition to our calendar of activities and events, we host two annual competitions: the Early Careers Challenge, and the Jack Lewin Prize.
Early Careers Challenge
New last year, this annual competition is aimed at those who are early in their career and perhaps not yet chartered. Each year we set a challenge to be completed in groups. The prizes include tickets to Flood & Coast, vouchers, and more! Benefits of taking part include getting to know the sector better, expanding your network, developing skills, and gaining experience and exposure.
We launched this initiative in 2025, with ten teams of early career professionals who took on the challenge to create a podcast episode addressing “how uncertainty impacts the translation of policy into practice in the rivers and coastal space”. The winners were Jennifer Horner, Keir Smith and Thea Dancer with a fantastic 16-minute podcast focusing on chalk streams and the uncertainty surrounding their protection in national policy.
Listen to the podcast and read more about the winning team’s experience in their article Podcasting policy, people and the future of chalk streams. Find out more about the competition on our Early Career Professional Challenge page.
Jack Lewin Prize
Every year the RCG committee presents the Jack Lewin prize to someone who has made a significant contribution to the rivers and coastal sectors. It is presented to the winner at the Flood & Coast Conference.
The current recipient of the prize is Joanne Barlow, who has made a number of major contributions to the sustainable management of our rivers. The committee noted the substantial amount of time, thought and effort that she puts into all of the causes she supports, and the vital mentorship role she plays to the more junior members of our industry. Joanne is currently Geomorphologist and Water Resources Team Leader at Mott MacDonald.
Recent recipients of the Jack Lewin prize include:
Formerly known as the RCG Chairman’s prize, it was renamed in 2010 after Professor Jack (Jacob) Lewin. Lewin, born in 1922 in East Prussia as it was then, was a survivor of Kristallnacht in 1938, and came to Britain the following year on the Kindertransport aged 16. Lewin learnt English at night school and started out as an apprentice draughtsman. He became one of the world’s leading experts in the design of hydraulic gates, writing the definitive book ‘Hydraulic Gates and Valves’ in 1995.
Lewin was an enthusiastic supporter of CIWEM and the RCG and donated a section of original wooden elm water pipe from his days with the Metropolitan Water Board to the RCG. The water pipe became the trophy for the Chairman’s Prize.
Following Lewin’s death in January 2010, the RCG chose to rename the Chairman’s prize in his honour. The name plate on the Elm Pipe trophy is now full-up of previous winners so is on display at CIWEM HQ. A new trophy was manufactured, and with Jack in mind, was made from parts of one of the UK’s famous flood gates - the Thames Barrier.
Director of Wetland Conservation Clare Dinnis
Recent recipients of the Jack Lewin prize include:
Since 1985, our members have been the leading practitioners in improving the quality and management of water and the environment. Learn more about our Trustee Board.
Find out moreWe provide a forum for professional debate and the opportunity for members to meet and socialise. You can drive knowledge and best practice by getting involved with our special interest groups.
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