Rivers, Floods and Management

Tewkesbury Gloucestire – on the river Severn, severn Ham (nature reserve) Confluence – River severn, Avon Tirle Brook and Carrant Brook

 - Population of 10,000-  800 properties -  Highest recorded rainfall  -  £40,000 to pay for damages - 900 yr old abby

PHYSICAL CAUSES.    -  90 mm fell on Friday 20^th July 2007-   River rose to a new record 5.43m -      The river severn catchment area 6900km² +  River Avons Catchment area 4500km²  = 1 trillion litres of water -      Anticedent rainfall à saturation of land = flood  - 200% of average rainfall fell in may june and july -      The river Carrant Brook, Tirle Brook and Swirlgate  peaked before River severn and Avon

HUMAN CAUSES  -      Tewkesbury is built on a FLOODPLAIN (wheatpieces community court)  - Abby terrace is known for flooding -      Poorly maintained drainage = not enought money spent on drainage system

WHO WAS AFFECTED? -   Water treatment plant ‘Mythe’ was at risk although was on higher ground than rest of Tewkesbury  o   Electrical Fire risk so Plant was shut down o   No fresh water to Houses, o   Bowser was distributed through the town o   1,100 lories loaded with bottles of water to help distributiono   This cost 7 trent £25 million - Insurance Companies Increased Premiums as there was a greater flood risk in Tewkesbury.

 REDUCING RISKS?-      £4 million, gates Bank, walls in Upton on severn o   Cost benefit analysis  1. Technically possible 2.    Environmentally acceptable 3.    Economically viable  o   Cheaper to run – 2 people a gate compared to 20 people -      Disused railway to be removed -      Lightweight furniture rather than heavy furniture to ease movability -      Ponds flowerbeds and permeable paths put in to housing areas to encourage drainage-      Warnings and monitoring systems -      Flood gate is temporary   -      Moving sockets up walls in houses-   Raising cupboards and shelving  -      Removing carpets and placing in tiles

York, North east England, River OUSE flows through the city            Confluence – River Ouse, Foss and Nidd

-         Population of 181,131  -         3000 people eveacuated -         Steep drainage basin

PHYSICAL CAUSES. -           Several depressions ‘swept’ across Northern Britain -       35 – 40mm of rain fell in 24 hours -           Antecedent conditions  -           The river ouse was 4.8m higher than ususal  o   Caused the York racecourse to be flooded completely = no racing

WHO WAS AFFECTED? -           3000 people evacuated from their homes  -           Army was called in to assist evacuation (£41,000) -           Fire service was brought in to assist too (£100,000) -           Between 2000 and 2010 one insurance company in York payed out £12.5 million in flood damage claims -           800 claims to insurers at an average of £25,000 per property -           City of York Council spent £1.3 million for protection of the city ( i.e sandbags) o   The council has been able to claim back from the government (£12,228,000) but still has to find (£722,000) from their own resources. -           200,000 less vistitors to York led to £10 million loss of income to local tourist sites.

 REDUCING RISKS? -           A flood retention basin was created  it can hold up to 2.3 million cubic metres of water in CLIFTON INGS. -           Embankments were built infront of houses -           Flood walls replace garden fences on the rivers edge -           River was straightened and lined -           Buildings have been adapted  (eg ground floor is now carparks) -           The Foss barrier stops water travelling back up the river, which would flood the historical parts of the town  -           John Prescott a British Politician pledges a new national recovery team to help flood victims, with the promise of £51 million extra in funding for flood defences and warning systems.   o   He also promised that he had asked insurance to pay out quicker

Berkshire – the Thames goes around the border of Berkshire  Kennet and Avon canal passes through Berkshire, the Kennet flows into the Canal

-       Windsor Castle is in the County of Berkshire -       No county Council – non metropolitan county

PHYSICAL CAUSES. -       Extreme weather with high amounts of rain  -       80mph winds  -       1.5 inches of rain

-       Antecedent conditions

HUMAN CAUSES  -       Majority of the Towns have been built on the river’s edge o  The towns were built on the River Thames Floodplain, creating impermeable surfaces meaning water cant percolate through the soil  -       An artificial river was created called the Jubilee river this was created to bypass the river Thames but this made flooding more prominent downstream

WHO WAS AFFECTED?     -      1700 people were left with no power for more than 6 hours -       100 troops  were brought in to assist evacuations -      3000 sandbags were used to protect electricity substations

REDUCING RISKS? -       No longterm solutions as such at the moment -       But sandbags and smaller defences have been put in to protect against more power cuts.

Worcester the river Severn runs through it, connects with the Worcester and Birmingham Canal

-17 miles southwest of Birmingam  - 23 miles north of Gloucester     - Population of 100,000

- The River Severn Runs through the middle of the city over looked by the Worcester Cathedral

Physical Causes?  - North Atlantic Jet stream is unusually strong  - Increasing Strong Atlantic Storms  - Intense Rainfall  - River Severn was at its highest level in recent years, 5.67m above the highest reached level in 2007

Human Causes? - The city was built on the edge of the River Severn

Who was affected? - Nearly 10,000 homes were at risk of flooding  - 2,723 homes were deemed at risk in worcester itself  - The most at risk was South Worcestershire - 21 Flood Warnings for Worcestershire along the Severn, Avon and Wyre  - Major roads in city centre had to shut - Many Buildings were shut such as the Hanley Castle High School  - the Main city bridge was closed - Otters were affected too as they were spotted in the city canal rather than the River Severn itself - 50 homes were flooded

Reducing Risks? - Pumps were put into place to remove water - Troops from the Royal Irish Regiment were deployed to provide extra support for flood victims  - Worcester city council launched a £50,000 hardship fund - The environment agency are trying to put more of a focus on flood protection - Since storms in 1998, lots was done to homes to protect them which kept many homes dry

The Bradshaw Model is a geographical model which describes how a river's characteristics vary between the upper courseand lower course of a river.

Deltas

- a feature of deposition, located at the mouth of a irver as it enters a sea or lake

Bangladesh Delta - Arcuate Delta

Nile Delta - Arcuate Delta

Mississippi Delta - Bird Foot Delta

City of Durham - incised meander