In the past people responded to flooding by building 'hard' flood defences of concrete or metal, but this approach could increase flood risk elsewhere. For example, building walls alongside a river may increase flood levels elsewhere in the catchment. Similarly, building groynes along the coast can restrict sediment transfer to other locations that are then left more vulnerable to flooding.
The Environment Agency develops Catchment Flood Management Plans and Shoreline Management Plans to ensure that river catchments or long sections of the coast are looked at as a whole to try to avoid this problem.
These plans identify how the chance and impact of floods can be reduced. This is known as flood risk management:
- any changes in land use can affect the frequency or extent of floods so we can reduce the chance (probability) of floods happening by managing land, river systems, drainage, as well as building flood defences.
- we can reduce the impact (consequences) of flooding by using the planning system to discourage development in areas at risk from flooding and by warning people when floods occur so that they can take action and be prepared.
Most climate scientists consider that
climate change is likely to lead to different patterns of rainfall over the UK, including more extreme weather such as the severe flooding of 2000 and 2007. So flood risk management is likely to become increasingly difficult.
Follow these links to find out what flood risk management involves in these catchments:
River Ouse
River Severn
