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Water is an integral issue within the current climate crisis, resulting in tangible and severe impacts to not just human life, but to the environment and all living things within it. The disregard and exploitation of natural bodies of water is greatly affecting the well-being of Bristol’s populace and biodiversity, particularly within the increasing sewage discharges by local water companies.

This thesis aims to address the growing issues of pollution and degradation of England’s natural bodies of water and their ecosystems within the climate crisis through programme and design. The proposal seeks to restore the waterways of River Avon and increase biodiversity within the currently scarcely occupied and ecologically fragmented site, ensuring good water quality in water bodies to support healthy wildlife.

Interaction with the natural world can be encouraged by providing an improved landscape in which the benefits of respectful treatment of the environment can be experienced first hand by visitors. Humanity’s position within the watershed network will be explored. Through large scale policy and masterplanning, this thesis proposes the necessary radical action needed to change the future of Bristol’s sewage and water system. The linear model of the water supply economy should be something of the past.

The household and the industry alike should be responsible for living within our means with regards to water. Only by adopting a mindful and regenerative relationship with the environment, can the future of our water and the ecosystems that depend on it be safeguarded for future generations to come.