Dr Rachel Dearden

Dr Rachel Dearden is a hydrogeologist at the British Geological Survey (BGS). She received her Ph.D. from the University of Birmingham in contaminant hydrogeology in 2007 and subsequently worked as a post-doctoral researcher before moving to the BGS in 2008. In this position, Rachel has been leading sustainable drainage research for the past three years, focusing on infiltration SuDS and ground compatibility. She developed the Infiltration SuDS Map that was released commercially in February 2012, and is involved with significant stakeholder engagement to improve decision making with respect to infiltration SuDS and ground compatibility. In 2011, she was awarded a Natural Environment Research Council Knowledge Exchange Fellowship grant that funds this work. In addition, Rachel is setting up an infiltration SuDS observatory to determine the impact of infiltration SuDS on groundwater quality and level and she supervises a study that aims to understand the impact of infiltration SuDS on groundwater level at the catchment-scale.