Dr Congying LI (China)

Congying’s research in the field of ecohydrology is about assessing the effect of catchment-wide implementation of stormwater control measures on urban streamflow.

PhD in Hydrology and Water Resources Science

Research focus: urban ecohydrology, sustainable urban storm water management, waterway ecosystem protection, and statistical modeling

2015-2019 Melbourne Research Scholarships for PhD study in Australia
2011-2013 Erasmus Mundus Scholarship (Category A), funded by the European Union, for MSc study in Europe

CV as submitted for the Green Talents award (2013):

European Regional Centre for Ecohydrology U/A UNESCO, Poland; University of Lodz, Poland and UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, the Netherlands

Research focus: sustainable urban storm water management, focusing on storm water purification and infiltration through gravel-peat filter

Congying Li is a problem-solver, working to develop green technologies – based on the ecohydrological principles – to ensure that cities in the future will be more developed and robust, landscapes uphold their beauty, and that sustainable development will become tangible.

Inspired by ecohydrology’s sustainable approaches to addressing water problems, Congying Li is focusing on this field to create green technologies which will solve urban storm water flooding and pollution in an economical way.

After first completing a bachelor’s degree in Hydrology and Water Resources Engineering, and working as a research assistant developing the key techniques of groundwater overexploitation areas assessment in China, Li moved her focus to ecohydrology.

By using ecohydrology – the interactions between hydrology and biota – as well as good urban design, Li aims to address urban storm water flooding and pollution problems, solve air pollution and urban terrestrial landscape issues and improve the cost-effectiveness of green technologies.

“Many cities all over the world are continuously suffering the consequences of rainstorms, especially storm water flooding,” Li says. “It is very urgent to combine those green technologies with the existing drainage networks, to control storm water at its source, which also increases green areas and enhances ecosystem capacity in the city.”