Flooding in the UK - Surface water run off and landscaping. - LJN Blog Posts

The recent tragic flooding in Cumbria follows a line of extreme 'once in a lifetime' flooding events in the last decade to hit various parts of the UK. It is interesting that this time there have been more reports focusing on human activities compounding the situation, more so than in previous events. There is some truth in this, although it is perhaps prudent to note that the more localised and unreported events are the ones which do have a direct link back. The large scale flooding, which may indeed have cause resulting from a changing climate, cannot be attributed to run off as a result of human activity as the percentage of such run off is not large enough to be contributable in real terms.The resulting journalism is a double edged sword. The benefits of highlighting the threats which occur from the lack of tackling this properly can only help to publicise a real need to tackle this issue, (lets be honest SUDS, whilst a step in the right direction is a little lacking), but has also focused in on many organisations or groups of people, (including the landscaping industry) as the people to blame. In this case there really isn't anyone to blame and such quangos as the Environment Agency and local councils have had considerable flak, yet their budget and remit are wholly unsuitable for actually tackling this problem and in some ways exist as a means for the government to push such flak onto, (Even the Met Office have had blame apportioned to them!!!).Clive Aslet in the Telegraph , describes the need for 'Slow Water' and describes how the post war concreting of Britain and subsequent storm water drainage, (which is built to speed water out of an area as quickly as possible), has resulted in a lack of water, despite all the rain, reaching our aquifers and solving water shortages in drier periods.Usually I loathe journalistic buzzwords, but this new one is a great idea. And before government decides to adopt a publicity campaign to blame all of the population for such problems by way a multi million pound advertising campaign (similar to the change your lightbulb campaign - this money would have been better spent giving said lightbulbs to thousands of homeowners and tenants), it may be worth pre empting some factors which all of us and particularly us in the industry can adopt in a way to reduce water run off and the subsequent results. I have always found that introducing such factors, where costs can be negligible in terms of proposed landscaping, boosts the prospects of winning a contract. The following are just handful of suggested directions to take and it would be great to hear of others own methods to tackle this issue and I apologise that in many respects I am preaching to the converted somewhat here:A good garden or landscaping project invariably equates to having the sufficient drainage in place. The idea of installing complex drainage to filter all surface water, and often groundwater also into the nearest outflow or stream is counterproductive to the longevity and health of plants in that garden. Dig down, not horizontally is the key.In forestry guidelines from the 1980's all drains are built to <3 degrees, with plenty of silt traps. This reduces the run off substantially and together with the fact that trees in themselves absorb and slow down run off substantially adds to highlight our forests and woodlands in the UK as the principal buffer zones of serious flooding and soil erosion. Riparian trees have been shown to significantly strengthen stream and river banks and can often be attributed to flood preventation. In the smallest of gardens, the trapping of water by trees is significant and it is well proven that in many leafier areas the run off is significantly reduced. Therefore plant a tree whenever possible.If there are springs and concentrated water pockets in a garden, it is common practice to believe this is the ideal site to install the obligatory water feature. This is not so - the compounding of the area in order to create the desired effect can often create a worse problem or simply transfer it to elsewhere. As such construct a water feature with flow from these areas not on top of.A mini soak away is one of the easiest and cheapest sustainable additions in any project. In new builds in particular, the resulting damage to the land to be landscaped by the builders is a time consuming and costly factor in landscaping budgets. The remediation by builders is often little more than a new layer of topsoil across heavily consolidated soil, problems invariably occur within a couple of years. The real cost of having to redefine the previous soil profile is simply too expensive for most people and the only cheap alternative is to ensure that small frequently spaced soak aways are constructed instead. The testing of said soakaways are easy to determine using the same tests as used for percolation.Any methods of storing the water run off in areas where natural percolation can occur will help toease the flooding risks. Open storage is preferable and can lead to habitat creation also. Alongside most newer French roads you will see pond after pond after pond, these are the 'halts' for the surface water run off, which are much more effective than they seem. The article in hort week relating to a project in North Yorkshire carried out by the FC is a clear example of such schemes although the costs detailed seem high. Surely simply let a busload of school boys loose with dam making equipment and the job gets done for free.Cornwall Sustainable Landscapes

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