Geographical Association

Activities based around this case study are found below. We welcome your ideas and suggestions for further activities - contact Anne Greaves if you would like to contribute a resource you have created.

Investigate the Bewdley flood event using these activities: you could do so individually, or share the three main tasks around a group:

• Investigate the hydrology of the flood
• Investigate the meteorology of the flood
• Investigate land use and the options for flood management

Finish by completing the concept map activity together. You may also choose to do some of the extension activities.

Activity Resources:

• Rainfall and flow data October-December 2000 and Year 2000
• River Severn catchment overview
• Flood map of Bewdley
• Details of the recent flood history
• Gallery photos and maps of the Bewdley floods.

Use the resources to follow these investigations:

• Print a large copy of the hydrograph for Bewdley 25 October - 12 November 2000. Annotate it to show you understand these terms: rising limb, falling limb, peak flow rate, lag time, antecedent flow rate; add figures for the last three terms.
• Add text boxes to describe and explain the causes of the changes in discharge and the effects on Bewdley.
• Use the flood map to estimate the area of Bewdley flooded in October/November 2000. Then add a note with details of the extent and area of the flood to the hydrograph (the grid lines are 1Km).

Extend your work:

• Revisit the rainfall and flow data for the year 2000.
  
  - Were the peak flow rate, lag time and antecedent flow rates in October/November typical for the Severn at Bewdley that year?
  - What seasonal patterns can you detect?
• Compare the hydrograph for Bewdley with the hydrograph for October 2000 at Uckfield in Sussex, describing and explaining the main differences.
• Finally compare the hydrographs for October/November 2000 and July 2007 for Bewdley. In this flood event, Bewdley's barriers prevented flooding in the town.

Make a short summary of your findings, explaining them using what you know about the characteristics of the catchment and rainfall events. Check your textbook to make sure you have covered all the relevant processes; you might want to list the processes we don't have evidence for in these case studies.

Activity Resources:

• Rainfall and flow data October-December 2000 and year 2000
• Synoptic Chart for 29th October 2000
• Details of the autumn weather and the Met Office rainfall data for 2000

Use the resources to follow these investigations:

• Use textboxes or callouts to annotate the synoptic chart, using notes taken from information on the Met Office site.
• Add a short summary of the rainfall sequence for October to December and its causes.
• Finish with a summary that uses your new understanding of the meteorology to explain the flood event at Bewdley.
• Combine the results of your work into a presentation or poster to inform the other students in your group.

Extend your work:

• Revisit the rainfall and flow data for the year 2000 and find the hydrograph for July 2007.
• Find the Met Office summary and details of the weather of summer 2000 - check you understand the meaning of anomaly.
• Compare the weather situation for the two periods, and the impact on the flow of the River Severn.

Activity Resources:

• Maps 1 and 2 of the Severn catchment and catchment overview
• Information about the land use in the catchment
• Information about the flood defence scheme and the flood management plan
• Details of how to do a benefit-cost analysis
• Information on environmental impact assessment
• Information from news items for 2000 and 2007

Use the resources to follow these investigations:

• Produce a display or presentation to show how changes to land use upstream of Bewdley contributes to the flood hazard, for example by annotating around a catchment map.
• Produce a display or presentation showing the Environment Agency's flood prevention options - for example by annotating them around a map of Bewdley
  
  - include a benefit-cost analysis of the different options for Bewdley
  - complete an environmental assessment for the various flood alleviation schemes suggested. How does the result of this compare with the benefit-cost analysis?
  - evaluate these plans and produce a rank order of which you think to be most to least effective.
• Imagine you are a resident of Severnside North preparing to meet your MP. Prepare notes for the meeting, with reasons for requesting better flood defences in Bewdley and your preferred course of action.

Bewdley opted for a flood barrier scheme

EITHER: Set up a role play of a public enquiry putting forward the cases for and against the new flood defences in Bewdley. You would need to involve local residents, the Environment Agency, local tourism representatives, representatives of local fishing and leisure groups, environmentalist, the civic trust etc.

OR: Use De Bono's six thinking hats to discuss the proposal for building the flood defences in Bewdley.

Extend your work:

• Discuss the extent to which the catchment, land use, hydrology and meteorology affected the 2000 Bewdley flood. Use annotated maps photos and sketches to aid your answer. You may want to add detail to your investigation of the land use in the catchment by using programs such as Google Earth.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of the flood defences for Bewdley - investigate the effects of more recent high river levels on the town through internet news sites and the Environment Agency website.

• Produce a concept map to summarise your understanding of the Bewdley floods - start with these four main categories:
  
  - causes/effects
  - responses/solutions
• Add specific details from the resources on this site, adding connections between different factors that help explain the severity of the flood event.
• Present your findings including a short summary of the future flood risk at Bewdley.

• Is the UK becoming a more hazardous place? If so, why? Start your thinking by investigating the Met Office and Environment Agency websites.
• Consider the links between peoples' perception of flood risk and the range of responses to the flood hazard.
• What are the alternatives to engineering solutions to flood hazards?
  
  - evaluate their value in the shorter- and longer-term
  - consider whether the Environment Agency's solution to flooding in Bewdley contradicts their policy of looking for long-term changes in land use in river catchments.