The recent floods in Somerset and other areas appear to have divided opinion about how this potentially recurring problem should be dealt with in future; a division which may be summed up as hard engineering solutions versus ecosystem services. This is illustrated by comments by the chairman of my local Parish Council that were recently reported in the Leek Post and Times. Like the MP for the Somerset Levels, he suggests that want of maintenance of local streams is responsible for past flooding events, and that the recent dredging of the Horton Brook where it passes under the A53 is the reason that there have been no floods in Endon this winter. He also said that the the Environment Agency refuses to clear away trees that have fallen across the brook is because leaving them is good for wildlife.
My own weather records
suggest that the lack of recent floods in Endon is nothing to do with
a small dredging project on one of the three or so streams that pass
thorough the village, but it has everything to do with the quantity
of precipitation we have received this year. In August 29th
2012 parts of Endon were flooded, and some people had to leave their
houses. However this event followed a month (August) in which we had
144mm of rain which was preceded by July 2012 in which we had 133mm
of rain (including 33mm in a very short period on the day of the
flood). Contrast this with 2011 when we had 74mm in July and 80mm in
August and 2013 when we received 91mm in July and 71mm in August. To
my knowledge there were no property-damaging floods in either of
those years. It is obvious that the summer of 2012 was particularly
wet and the local soils, streams and drains could not accommodate all
the water. The recent dredging under the A53, which appears to have
increased the capacity of the stream by only a few cubic metres, did
not prevent floods in 2013/14, lack of sufficient precipitation did.
But, to get back to the
issue of wildlife. Presumably, Mr Sambrook (the chairman), chose to
live in Endon, which is an area that is fairly well endowed with
wildlife. And yet he seems to find it quite acceptable to call for
the damage of some of our local natural assets (for example by
suggesting we should eliminate some of the pretty meandering streams
in which coarse woody debris has helped create habitat for a variety
of creatures) under the misconception that this would help reduce the
possibility of local flooding. It won't - and this is why, hopefully,
the Environment Agency won't be clearing them.
Much has been written
about how we in the UK might prevent flooding in future years, and
whatever is done, will be carried out by regional and national
authorities, not parish councils. However there is perhaps something
that Mr Sambrook and his council can do to help. For example when
they look over planning applications they might suggest that features
such as Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems and green roofs are
incorporated in to new developments. They might encourage local
residents not to install impermeable surfaces in their gardens and
remove those that have already been installed. They might also
persuade local farmers not to allow the soil in their fields to
become compacted by and grazed to a state of baldness so that
rainwater flows off at a rapid rate. They might also urge local
farmers not to remove hedges and allow existing ones degrade to the
stage where they do not help to slow the flow of water over their
fields. Yes, ecosystem services will be part of the measures we use
to prevent flooding. And they also provide other benefits. A village
surrounded by wildlife is a wonderful place, it is why I live here
and I assume others do too!
Dredging the Horton Brook in Endon, February 2014.
