Global climate change has resulted in extreme weather conditions, and nowhere has this had more impact than in the field of flood prevention. National Grid's 400kV substation at Walham, near Gloucester, links the power stations in South Wales with the demand of central and south west England. It supplies electricity to 500,000 homes and industries plus the Government Communications Headquarters in Cheltenham. The substation is on the River Severn flood plain and came to national prominence in July 2007 when it was threatened by serious flooding. In what became known as the Battle for Walham, the emergency services and military engineers managed to stop the rising water within millimetres of it overtopping emergency flood defences. The review of the 2007 floods by former Planning Inspectorate chief executive Michael Pitt recommended that "the government and infrastructure operators should work together to build a level of resilience into critical infrastructure assets that ensures continuity during a worst case flood event".
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