Richard Lupo’s latest blog looks at a plight that’s been around since biblical times and doesn’t show any sign of going away: flooding.
One of the projected adverse effects of climate change is increased floods. The term ‘projected’ may not be the right one here, because floods are an increasing real occurrence causing misery to those affected and costing huge amounts of money to repair the damage.
According to Government, “around 5.5 million homes and businesses in England are at risk of flooding and climate change is only increasing the dangers.” We often think of flooding from rivers bursting their banks, but a larger proportion of flood events (projected or experienced) comes from surface water flooding, affecting 3.4 million properties in England.
On the surface
The reason surface water is more of a risk is because climate change will lead to more intense rainfall events. In other words, more water will fall in shorter periods of time. That, coupled with more hard surfaces and drainage systems designed for different weather patterns, means that rainwater cannot get soaked into the ground and hence flows onto our streets and properties.
There is no data about the number of properties at risk in Stroud, but you can look up your own property on the Environment Agency website. For our work [see his Transitioneer profile to find out more about Richard’s work] we tend to use the ‘long term flood risk’ map because that is focused on what is actually in place on the ground. There is another map for developers, but that is more geared for developers to plan flood defences for the properties they build.
Plot your risk
By putting in your postcode and flowing the links, you can find out how much at risk you home is from surface water and river flooding. Eventually you will find a link to a map. The picture below shows a grab from the website.
Be sure to check both surface water and rivers and sea. The map is caveated to say it is not meant for a property, but nevertheless it does give you a good clue of the risks you face. It would be a good idea to check this every three years or so because the flood modelling gets upgraded as well as the nature of the ground surfaces.
If you do find that you are at risk there is plenty of advice on the Environment Agency website. You can:
⦁ Sign up to flood alerts
⦁ Check insurance cover
⦁ Store important documents in waterproof containers
⦁ Know how to switch off utilities if needed
⦁ Think about how to stop water getting in to your property (although in some cases it is better to let water in and clean up afterwards)
⦁ Prepare a flood kit
In the longer term, we all need to reduce CO2 emissions so that flooding doesn’t get any worse. And anything we can do to make our ground more permeable will help, so creating lots of green spaces will be part of the plan – ditch that artificial grass or paving you were planning for the front garden. And of course if we create green spaces, they will enhance biodiversity, too!