Flood Management Stratagies

?
View mindmap
  • Flood Management Stragagies
    • Hard Engineering
      • Dams- huge wall built across rivers, forming a reservoir behind. Flood waters caught by the dam preventing flooding downstream
        • Turbines often built generating electricity. Steady water release allows irrigation of land below. Reservoir can be used for recreation
        • Expensive. Land flooded by reservoirs created. Affects wildlife. Sediment trapped by rivers can cause it to fail
      • Channel Straightening- meanders are removed making water flow faster, reducing flooding as water doesn't build up
        • Less time to navigate the river
        • Flooding risk greater downstream and erosion. Disturbs wildlife habitats
      • Leeves- Embankments built along rivers, so them can hold more water without overflowing
        • Allow flood plains to be built on
        • Expensive. Serve flooding if breaches
      • Diversion Spillways- Channels that take water elsewhere if water levels too high.
        • Could cause flooding where the diversion rejoins river. Overwhelmed spillways, may cause flooding in areas not used to flooding
    • Soft Engineering
      • Land use management- planning restrictions on floodplain, more water can then be infiltrated
        • Reduced impacts of flooding. Provides recreational areas.
        • Restricts development. Can't be used in already urbanised areas.
      • Wetland and riverbank conservation- wetlands store flood water slowing it down. Also planting on river banks increases interception.
        • Provided habitats. Protects surface from soil erosion.
        • Less land for farming
      • River Restoration- makes the river more natural, allowing the flood plain to flood naturally.
        • Little maintenance. Provides habitat for wildlife.
        • Local flood risk increases
      • Alteration of urban surfaces- increasing infiltration, increasing the lag time.
        • Pollutants in water are removed by soil before reaching the river
        • Expensive
    • Weather forecasts and flood warning
      • Warn people of possible floods, so people can evacuate saving lives and people can prepare reducing the damage of flooding
        • Not everyone has access to the communication systems used.       Flash floods too fast for warnings. People may ignore warnings if they've been wrong previously

Comments

No comments have yet been made

Similar Geography resources:

See all Geography resources »See all Rivers and fluvial processes resources »