UNIT 2: Winchester Flooding 2014

ECONOMIC IMPACTS:-Total flood costs were £68.5 million. -Homes and businesses were flooded.-Winchester School of Art and St. Bedes Primary were severyly flooded due to their location being near the river. -Money was spent of 80 one-tonne sand bags, water pumps and other forms of management.

SOCIAL IMPACTS:-Due to a primary school and university being flooded, the sites had to be closed and studens could not attend. -Art work in the university was ruined.-People couldn't leave their homes as the majority of Winchester was inaccessible due to high flood waters.-Water Lane, a road with residential properties and the river Itchen running through it was vastly flooded. Homes were filled with water. -Flooding can cause upwelling of sewage and contaminate water. -50,000people without power.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS:-Sewage overflowed, contaminate water works and kill ecosystems in the river.-Oil leaked from cars, this can also affect wildlife in serious cases.-Fertilizers from fields were washed off due to surface run off.-Areas were too flooded making them inaccesible to the public, nearby nature reserve was out-of-bounds.

SHORT TERM STRATEGIES

Sand bags: Water Lane:Strengths, Holds back large amounts of water, prevents it from entering buildings. Weaknesses, They can be weak, not strong as it isn't permanent.

Water Pumps: Strengths, Removes water from flooded areas. Weaknesses, Doesn't permanently remove water, it may flood again.

70ft Flood Barrier:Park avenue: Strengths, Prevents flood waters from infiltrating homes, it is also very strong. Weaknesses, High Maintenance, Expensive, Prevents access to certain areas.

Artificial Pond: Strengths, Natural, may attract new wildlife. Weaknesses, Could potentially flood itself, very expensive to install and manage.

LONG TERM STRATEGIES

Wash Lands/ Nature Reserve: Strengths, It is an area that is allowed to flood, it is appealing to the public, attracts wildlife and business. Weaknesses, Flooding of the reserve can make it inaccessible, stress of flooding affecting some wildlife and plants.

Sluice Gates: Strengths, allows river flow to be controlled. Weaknesses, Expensive, high maintenance costs.

MET Office Synoptic Charts: Allowed us to look at the weather prior to and after the flooding. Depression conditions.

Halcrow Engineers Report:  Information on hydrology, geology and past historical flooding of Winchester.

Winchester City Council: Reports on management and what had occured during the flooding.

Hampshire Chronicle: Facts and figures on management, gave peoples opinions on the flooding.

BBC News Article: Increased knowledge on causes etc.

Place Check Form: Stratified sampling technique, describing land use of each of the 3 sites, recording visible causes, impacts and management strategies.

Land Use Map: Stratified sampling technique, a visual representation of Winchester, map of the area with annotions regarding land use, e.g. places of residence, business and roads.

Bipolar Evaluation of Flood Defences: Stratified sampling technique, Scoring management techniques on a -3 to+3 scale, factors include whether it is vulnerable to natural processes, if the aesthetic was poor, maintenance and whether it causes a hazard.

Questionnaire: Stratified sampling technique, the sample size was 5, members of the publc were asked questions regarding their view on winchester and flooding management.

Photograph Survey: Stratified sampling technique, photographs were taken of the 3 sites and annotated, by looking at photos during and after the flooding it allowed for comparison. Photographs also allowed us to analyse the site in depth without being there.

EIA of Flood: Stratified sampling, each zone was marked between -3 to +3. (eco, etc)