Speakers announced for the ADA Flood & Water Conference 2025

Plans for this year’s ADA Flood & Water Conference are well advanced with most of our speakers confirmed. The event will take place on Tuesday 25 November 2025 at One Great George Street, Westminster, London. Bookings are now open (via Eventbrite), and an early bird discount is available for delegate bookings from ADA’s member organisations.

With a number of strategic flood risk management policies being reshaped by Government, the timing of ADA’s Conference is ideal for discussion and debate on the future direction of travel for our sector.

Kindly sponsored by Balfour Beatty and Wilkin Chapman Rollits, this year’s Conference will once again bring together delegates from across the flood and water level management industry, including the Environment Agency, internal drainage boards, local authorities, regional flood & coastal committees, Natural Resources Wales and many suppliers.

Speakers

An exciting programme of prominent political, policy and technical speakers is being lined up. We are delighted to share that the following keynote speakers have confirmed their attendance. Additionally, the details of our opening speaker will be announced later this summer.

Juan Valero de Palma – Juan is one of the most recognised voices in the field of Spanish water management. As President of Spain’s National Federation of Irrigation Communities (FENACORE), he helps represent more than 700,000 irrigators and more than two million hectares across the country. A resident of Valencia, Juan also serves as General Secretary of the Acequia Real del Júcar one of the oldest irrigation institutions in Spain. Juan has recently given evidence to the Spanish Senate’s investigation into the devastating flash flooding of October 2024. He will also give us an overview of the pressures faced in Spain with increasing competitive demands for water and the importance of modernisation in water management.

Lila Thompson – Lila is the CEO of British Water, which represents the interest of UK water and waste water supply chain companies. Lila has over 20 years of experience driving business growth, policy development and stakeholder engagement in a variety of sectors. Lila was formerly British Water’s International Director and responsible for helping supply chain companies grow their businesses globally. Lila will emphasise the importance of connections and collaboration between the different parts of the water-related sectors.

David Porter – By the time of the Conference David will have become the Institution of Civil Engineers’ 161st President. David is well known to ADA, having headed up the Rivers Agency, the then flood defence and drainage authority for Northern Ireland, as both its Principal Engineer and Chief Executive. David is now Director of Engineering for the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) and the head of the civil engineering profession within the civil service in Northern Ireland. David is perfectly placed to talk to us about the importance of long-term planning for asset maintenance and management.

Sebastian Catovsky – Sebastian is Co-Director of Floods & Water at Defra. A highly influential civil servant working alongside and advising government, Sebastian has served two stints at the Treasury, provided independent scientific scrutiny as Head of Adaptation at the Committee on Climate Change, and has a breadth of experience within Defra. A regular attendee at past ADA Conferences, we are delighted that Sebastian will be addressing us to present the latest thinking on government policy and strategy.

How to book

Discounted Early Bird Tickets for ADA Members at £140+VAT are available for up to first 75 tickets sold prior to 30 September 2025.

Members Tickets £160+VAT are available exclusively to ADA Members, including staff and board members of IDBs, Environment Agency, Natural Resources Wales, Dept. for Infrastructure NI – Rivers Division, Regional Flood & Coastal Committees, Broads Authority, Coal Authority, Anglian Water, Network Rail, as well as staff and councillors of local authorities who are members of ADA.

Non-Member Tickets £240+VAT.

Student Tickets A limited number of FREE tickets are available by application to students enrolled and studying on a relevant flood or water management degree programme.

Book your place via Eventbrite

Innovation Exhibition

The event will open with our Innovation Exhibition in the Great Hall offering the opportunity for attendees to connect with suppliers of products and services to the sector network with new faces and catch up with colleagues. A buffet lunch will be served from 12.00 before the conference presentations commence at 12.45.
Further time for networking will be available during the afternoon refreshments break (14.20 – 15.00) before the Conference closes at 16.00.

Associate Members can exclusively book exhibition space online. Each exhibiting Associate Member will receive one free ticket for a name representative to attend the Conference.

Any queries

Should you have any queries about the ADA Flood & Water Conference 2025, please do not hesitate to get in touch with Laura Lamb on laura.lamb@ada.org.uk.

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