HomeCommittee Members
Treasurer: Richard Boak
Richard has over 25 years of professional experience as a hydrogeologist and engineer. He joined the Shrewsbury office of Water Management Consultants Ltd (WMC) in 1998, having previously held positions such as Principal Hydrogeologist for Southern Water, and Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham. WMC is now part of Schlumberger Water Services, and Richard is Regional Manager for Europe & Africa. Richard has particular expertise in water resources planning, groundwater protection, small-scale rural water supplies, borehole construction and test pumping, and assessment of the environmental effects of groundwater abstraction. He has extensive international experience, with a strong focus on Africa. Richard is a Chartered Geologist and Chartered Engineer.
Secretary: Clive Carpenter
Clive is a chartered geologist with over 18 years' post-graduate experience in hydrogeology, water resources and water sector policy. He joined GWP Consultants in 2004 as the Head of Water Resources, having previously managed the Pacific Water and Sanitation Programme and held consultancy positions at Halcrow, Southern Water Global, and Travers Morgan. He has particular expertise in groundwater investigations and environmental assessment, groundwater control and de-watering, water resources planning, national and international water policy development and integrated water governance. He has extensive international experience, with a particular focus on Small Island Developing States and the Middle East. Clive is a former Governor Alternate of the World Water Council, an EFG Hydrogeology Expert Panel member and a GEF STAP Roster Expert.
Ian Davey
Ian is a Chartered Geologist and EuroGeologist with more than twenty years' experience of protecting water quality and resources. He has worked for the Environment Agency and before this, the National Rivers Authority and Water Authorities, handling the regulation of contaminated land, waste management (landfills), agricultural activities (nitrate, pesticides), infrastructure development (e.g. roads, airports), R&D, and groundwater quality monitoring. More recently he has been on attachment to the Polish and Bulgarian Governments, managing European Commission projects on environmental directives, in preparation for joining the European Union. Currently Ian is managing river basin management projects under the Water Framework Directive for the Environment Agency
Chair: Jane Dottridge
Jane has over 30 years' experience in hydrogeology, with a good track record in water resources, groundwater and contaminated land. She is currently Contaminated Land Manager at Mott MacDonald in Cambridge, rejoining the company in 2007. She has previously been a director of WorleyParsons Komex and lecturer in hydrogeology at University College London. Jane's technical focus is contaminated land and its impact on groundwater, as well as water resources assessment and management. Her specialist expertise is modelling of groundwater flow and contaminant fate and transport. Internationally, Jane has worked in the Middle East, North and West Africa, Spain and the US. She is a Chartered Geologist and a registered Specialist in Land Condition.
Chris Leake
Chris gained a first degree in Earth Science prior to working in oil exploration in South East Asia for 5 years. Returned to the UK to study MSc in hydrogeology followed by 1½ years in Kwara State, Nigeria working on a groundwater development project. Consultant in the UK for 3 years then Pakistan on a regional groundwater assessment and development study. 7 years with quarrying company Tarmac as group hydrogeologist working on a wide range of projects throughout the UK. Acted as voluntary hydrogeological adviser to WaterAid for the last 7 years. A member of RedR with short input in Goma, Zaire in 1994. Worked as freelance hydrogeological consultant, then founded Hafren Water consultancy in 2000. Input to a wide range of groundwater investigations in the UK and overseas including undertaking work for WaterAid, most recently running a workshop on integrated water resource management in Ethiopia.
Becky Lunn
Dr Becky Lunn has extensive experience of mathematical modelling of subsurface fluid flow. She was appointed as a senior lecturer in the Department of Civil Engineering in the University of Strathclyde in 2005. She obtained a first degree in Mathematics from Cambridge University, and a PhD in Civil Engineering from Newcastle University in 1995. She has over 30 peer-reviewed publications in the numerical modelling of subsurface flow and pollutant transport. Recent research, funded by the UK Research councils, focuses on the hydro-mechanical modelling of geological faults with the aim of predicting spatial and temporal fault permeability evolution. Industrial applications of this research are deep geological disposal of radioactive waste, greenhouse gas sequestration, geothermal energy production and hydrocarbon exploitation.
Lucy Lytton
Lucy Lytton has worked as a hydrogeologist since 1990. After working in contaminated land and groundwater regulation and researching dryland salinity in Australia, she moved to Britain where she joined the strategic planning team at Three Valleys Water. Now working as a senior hydrogeologist, managing both operational (quality and quantity) and research projects for the company, she has also devoted time to humanitarian work, including working with OXFAM in Chad to obtain water for refugee camps and with Veolia Waterforce in Sri Lanka on well decontamination after the 2004 tsunami. Lucy is a Chartered Geologist and Chartered Scientist and has been a member of the IAH since 1989.
Alan MacDonald
Alan joined BGS in 1992 and is now based in Edinburgh after spells working in Wallingford and abroad. His current work is divided between international (mainly African) groundwater projects and UK based projects, encompassing most aspects of groundwater characterisation, monitoring and management. He is author of the book ‘Developing Groundwater: a guide for rural water supply’, and has written over 20 papers and 80 BGS Technical Reports. Alan is a Chartered Geologist and has a PhD from UCL on community water supplies from mudstones. He is currently chair of the IAH Burdon Network for developing countries.
Phil Merrin
Phil has worked for environmental consultancies, the British Geological Survey and a leading UK water company since completing his MSc at the University of East Anglia in 1996. Phil has extensive experience of UK hydrogeology and has worked in Ghana and Ethiopia as part of Department for International Development/WaterAid collaborative projects. At United Utilities, Phil is employed as the company’s Groundwater Manager and is responsible for implementation of the capital maintenance investment programme for the 200 groundwater source assets. Phil has particular experience in groundwater resource assessment, borehole optimisation and rehabilitation techniques, borehole construction and testing, groundwater quality problems, catchment management and pollution prevention, UK water resources legislation and he is the main point of contact for the whole of the company for groundwater-related issues. He works closely with colleagues from around the UK water industry and currently sits on the committee for the UK Groundwater Forum as well as the British Chapter of IAH.
Harriet Nash
Harriet is a hydrogeologist of some 30 years' standing. An important part of her work has been in humanitarian relief; she is an active member of RedR, and has carried out assignments in Bangladesh and Pakistan related to WATSAN problems. She has worked on rural water supply with many aid agencies in Africa and Asia, most frequently in Sudan. In the UK, much of her time has been spent on contaminated land and landfill issues. She has helped prepare environmental impact assessments for many industrial activities, including both expansion and closure of gold and coal mines in Eastern Europe and Mongolia. Currently she is studying for a PhD on the use of stars for timing the allocation of irrigation water in Oman – an activity which draws on many strands of her interest and expertise, including the Arabic language and cultural and social aspects of village life.
Richard Taylor
Dr Richard Taylor has 16 years of professional experience investigating and developing groundwater resources as well as providing technical assistance to water-supply projects primarily in sub-Saharan Africa. It is in Africa where Richard developed an abiding interest in the hydrogeology of weathered crystalline rock aquifer systems that occur throughout the tropics. His research interests and expertise also extend to the impact of climate and development on groundwater resources, and the mobility of faecal pathogens in groundwater. Apart from providing technical assistance to a range of international and non-governmental organisations, Richard has since 2000 held a faculty position at University College London and is adjunct Lecturer in the Department of Geology of Makerere University (Uganda). My academic website can be found here.
