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On Thursday, we were joined by David Brown from the Canal & River Trust. As part of our series of interviews with speakers, we had a chance to ask David some questions in which we cover the advances made in dam engineering, the Whalley Bridge dam incident in 2019, and biodiversity. We would like to thank David for taking his time to answer our questions. 

A reminder to all of our members that you can see all our upcoming lectures and events by clicking here.

Q: The engineering that underpins dams across the UK has developed over the past century, but could you highlight some of the major advances?

A: The Canal & River Trust, a charity established in 2012, and its predecessors the British Waterways Board, the British Transport Commission and the pre-nationalisation companies have been involved in the development of dams across the UK for over two centuries. Advances have included different materials and techniques for dam building; greater understanding of flood quantification for which we are still learning for example how to deal with the effects of climate change; spillway safety improvements; industry standards and guidance built on lessons learnt from our industry being open and sharing when safety incidents occur; extensive development of risk assessment and methods of mitigation; improved investigation techniques; the UK’s well developed emergency planning procedures and local resilience forums; our legislation has been developed from the lessons learnt and is brought up to date regularly and may be further updated following Toddbrook.

Q: The incident at Whalley Bridge triggered a re-analysis of dam in the UK. What lessons did the Canal & River Trust learn from the 2019 incident?

A: The Trust and the wider reservoir industry have learnt many lessons from the Toddbrook incident. The Trust appointed an independent engineer to review the incident and to give the Trust and the wider industry advice on what improvements could be made. We worked closely with the government’s inquiry and are implementing the initial findings in Part A. We await publication of part B later this year. Some of the improvements include increased investment in remote monitoring of reservoirs, moving our reservoir surveillance from paper records to a digital capture and alert system and improving safe inspection access to difficult areas on dam structures. We are improving our ability to identify change at reservoirs, improving our ability to effectively report and escalate actions and improving our response time if a change at a reservoir requires action. In addition we are using industry best practice methods to risk assess and identify safety measures at our reservoirs and we are heavily investing in the identified safety improvements.

Q: In an article by the BBC, they revisited Whaley Bridge a year later. One resident said that whenever they get heavy rainfall, they feel anxious. What changes are being made to this specific dam to make people feel safer for the future?

A: The Trust has gone of its way to reassure people that the dam is safe. We have provided regular updates on repair progress through a series of newsletters to more than 3,000 local residents. Immediately after the incident, we appointed a dedicated community engagement manager to work with local people, answering their queries and being a named point of contact within the Trust. For several months until covid lockdown, we hosted a weekly drop-in surgery where anyone could come and raise issues. We have held public meetings, open days and a public consultation event last September. We also provide regular updates on a dedicated section on the Trust’s website, plus social media posts and briefings for the national and regional media. We know people are concerned and our key message is always that the reservoir will remained drained until a permanent repair option is completed and the public are safe.

Q: What are some of the ecological impacts of dams on wildlife freshwater biodiversity — and how do you manage the relationship?

A: Many of our reservoirs are sites of special scientific interest (SSSI) or otherwise protected. We work closely with stakeholders, statutory and otherwise, to create water management plans. These take into account nesting birds, exposed mud flats for the waders, protecting fish stocks and the many important vegetation habitats around the reservoirs. Fluctuating water levels are important to the ecology at our reservoirs, some having been rising and falling to fill the canals each year across the UK for over 200 years. These reservoirs also supply water to the canals, which form a ribbon of wildlife habitat across broad swathes of the country. While there are many environmental concerns with the construction of dams and reservoirs, those operated by the Canal & River Trust have become part of the UK heritage and now provide a diverse habitat for wildlife.

On Thursday, we are joined by mathematician Dr James Grime for his talk ‘Bits and Pieces: Secrets of a Digital World’. For more information — including registration — click here.

This is our first Young People’s events this year, so it would be great if you could forward the event on to family members or friends (ideally at learners aimed between 16-18). That being said, anyone is welcome to join, and it is particularly encouraged if you have an interest in mathematics, World War II, and Alan Turing — the latter belonging to the roll call of Lit & Phil alumni!

In anticipation for the event, we had time to ask Dr Grime about some of his work, including his work with Youtube channel Numberphile.

As with the Keir Giles Q&A and events, if there’s a question you would like to ask Dr Grime yourself, you’ll get a chance at the event on Thursday. Our online events end with a Q&A section, where you can put your questions directly to our speakers. Thanks to Dr James Grime for taking part!

Q: To kick things off, what do you love about maths?

A: Maths is about solving problems. Whenever you are solving problems you are using mathematical thinking. Is a cheaper washing powder better than a more expensive washing powder that works better? How do arrange a dinner party so that two people who hate each other are seated apart. Do I need to take an umbrella with me today? All these problem involve mathematical thinking. And that type of thinking applies to building bridges, designing medicines, and even solving problems within mathematics itself. Mathematics is all about abstract thought - and that's why it's great.

Q: Where did the inspiration for ‘Bits and Pieces: Secrets of a Digital World’ come from?

A: I have spent many years talking about the history and mathematics of secret messages. But there were always some stories I wanted to tell that I couldn't fit in my previous talks. So this talk is about modern digital codes that allow us to transmit messages around the world in ways that are secret, reliable and efficient. Our whole modern world depends on them. But to get there, involved some interesting ideas and interesting people.

Q: Is it fair to label Alan Turing as the forefather of artificial intelligence?

A: Many call Alan Turing the father of modern computing. His description of a computer is the basis of how computers work today. After World War II he worked on projects to make the first computers, which he hoped would be like an electronic brain, and was one of the first to consider the technical and philosophical implications of Artificial Intelligence, and these ideas are just as relevant today.

Q: You have an extensive presence throughout YouTube, be it your own channel SingingBanana or Numberphile. What are your personal favourite videos that you have been involved in?

A: For me, my favourite videos are when I can explain something quite high level, in a succinct YouTube friendly way. It's a fun challenge, and I don't always pull it off, but a good example of that is my video about the Four Colour Theorem, which is a famous result in mathematics that says any map can be coloured using only four colours, so that neighbouring countries are different colours. That's quite surprising and took 120 years to prove, but it's an important idea in networks like the internet.

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**Please note that booking closes at 1730 on the day of the event, and we are not able to process registration requests after that time.  If you believe you have sent a registration request but have not received a confirmation email with joining instructions, then please contact the office as soon as possible.  Enquiries regarding bookings sent to the office after 1730 on the day of the event may not be answered.**

Spring 2021 discounted membership rates now available to new members

Here are the discounted subscription fees currently on offer to new members for ‘Spring 2021’ and until the end of March 2021*: 

Ordinary Membership (individual membership) £20.00 – Apply here

Joint Membership (group membership for a maximum of two people) £32.00 – Apply here

Under 30 Membership (individual membership for people under 30 years of age) £15.00 – Apply here

Corresponding Membership (individual membership for people who live outside of the North West region of England or who would like to support the Society but do not plan on attending lectures) £7.50 – Apply here

Student Membership (individual membership for people in full-time education) £3.00 – Apply here
 

Please note that you must be sixteen years or over in order to be eligible for membership.

*New discounted rates will be offered before the start of our summer term. Former members are not eligible for discounted subscription fees. If you wish to reactivate a lapsed membership please contact the Office by email.