WSP offers many exciting career opportunities in water. 

During World Water Week, WSP caught up with Phoebe Clayson-Lavelle, who provided some insight into her role as a water engineer.

Water is fundamental to every-day life 

"I was inspired to become a water engineer whilst studying a unit about Engineering for International Development at university," said Phoebe. "Studying this showed me how fundamental water is to our daily lives and inspired me to want to delve deeper to help positively harness this energy. As an engineer, I design scour protection schemes which provide erosion protection to embankments, which support our railways. These embankments have suffered a greater impact due to the flash flooding occurring from climate change. My work with these projects highlights the impact of flooding and the way our watercourses have been impacted by human behaviour over the years."

Harnessing nature-based solutions 

"There are many types of nature-based solutions that are in use on a variety of schemes," explained Phoebe. "For my work, the use of natural bank protection is widely adopted. These include coir matting, willow spilling and stakes. Other forms of nature-based solutions include Natural Flood Management and Sustainable Drainage Systems. It's crucial as engineers to engage with our younger audiences to help them appreciate the impact of climate change on our water systems. A way of achieving this is through community engagement, which is seen widely in the management of watercourses. By using the local community and getting them invested in the quality of their rivers, you promote the importance of keeping rivers healthy to promote biodiversity."

Building the case for sustainable measures  

On a recent scour project, Phoebe conducted a research study into previous examples to help build the case for sustainable measures. This enabled her team to challenge the status quo by promoting natural solutions to protect riverbanks and prevent further erosion.

Work on exciting water projects with WSP 

 WSP takes a holistic and sustainable approach to managing the use of water resources.

Join them via a fabulous career.

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