The Mansfield Sustainable Flood Resilience project, undertaken by Severn Trent Water (STW) ahead of the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, is worth revisiting as an example of what is possible when data and nature come together. The scheme was the largest sustainable drainage system (SuDS) in the UK at the time, and the water company required cost effective, reliable solutions that could capture rainwater and slow the pace of rainwater entering the sewage network, whilst providing critical level data on flooding risk in the network. Metasphere and other technology companies provided smart level monitoring solutions to support the SuDS scheme, with Metasphere’s Sense Level monitors helping track the pace at which rainwater infiltrates the network. The devices use contactless radar sensor technology to monitor in-sewer water levels and send data to Canvas, Metasphere’s data collection and device management platform. From there, users can visualise and access the data in near real-time on Palette, Metasphere’s visualisation platform. Data is presented concisely to provide insights for operational efficiency of the wastewater network and allow proactive management to reduce the likelihood of flooding. This combination of green space creation, alongside data collection, management and visualisation, has given the town of Mansfield more than 59 million litres of additional surface water storage capacity, while reducing flood risk for 90,000 residents. STW has shown that by deploying data in the design and implementation of nature-based flood resilience schemes in urbanised areas, it is possible to create resilient urban spaces for a cleaner, greener world.