SLOWING THE FLOW

摘要

Planning flood prevention schemes usually takes years, requires major construction work and results in lots of concrete and steel, right? Well, not always - it can involve natural materials, be completed in weeks and blend in, if natural flood management (NFM) techniques are used. The planning for NFM can still take a while but it is hoped that a S15M Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) pilot project will mature the science in order to change that. The pilot includes a project to add flood resilience to the River Soar and mitigate flood risk in Leicester. It will also test techniques for use elsewhere. "Leicester is strange in that it hasn't flooded for a number of years, but it is at risk from flooding," says Environment Agency senior environmental project manager Alex McDonald. "I believe it was the 1960s when it last properly flooded and it is currently one of the top 10 places in the UK at flood risk as a result of a combination of fluvial and surface water as well as the canal that runs through the city. It's quite complex in terms of the hydrology but, because it hasn't flooded recently, it is kind of 'out of sight, out of mind'.