Memorandum submitted by the Wildlife Trusts
(FL 93)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Current climate change predictions suggest that
increased storminess and intensive rainfall patterns will become
more frequent throughout the British Isles. Furthermore, as a
result of land use change, water moves through catchments faster
than ever before and has significantly less natural storage space.
Consequently, flooding has become more extensive, as water seeks
new pathways overland and through urban areas.
Hard defences should be maintained and used
where they are needed, which is most likely to be in urban areas.
However, flood defences are more likely to fail in the event of
extreme flood events and do not address urban drainage problems,
so we should be looking at complementary natural solutions in
the wider catchment to take the pressure off flood defences in
the event of extreme rainfall events. These should comprise:
Restoration of river systems—Reconnecting
floodplains to their rivers means that land available for water
storage is significantly increased and habitats are reconnected
as part of the natural riverine system.
Reduce urban runoff—Using Sustainable
Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS) reduces the proportion of impermeable
surfaces and increases capacity to retain water. Water is allowed
to percolate into the natural system, reducing the pressure on
urban drainage systems.
Restore good land management practices—Wetland
creation can be incorporated into existing land management and
still retain a viable farming base if properly designed and implemented.
Where water is stored offline, peak river flows are weakened and
delayed, reducing the pressure on flood defences.
The Wildlife Trusts urge Government to do the
following:
— Promote the policy lines in Making
Space for Water, which encourage floodplain storage and addressing
urban flooding problems
— Make a proportionate response to
the flooding in terms of the use of hard flood defences. Current
cost-benefit analysis tends to favour hard engineering solutions,
even though policies promote the use of washlands. This is often
because of extra land take costs. Funding should be made available
for complementary catchment management schemes and land purchase
— Provide a strong steer away from
further intensification of drainage of agricultural land and straightening/embankment
of rivers. It is a misconception that this approach reduces flooding,
and is often a cause of flooding
— Invest in further piloting of catchment
management schemes in partnership with landowners to reduce flood
risk to deliver land management schemes which bring multiple benefits
to the local economy and improve biodiversity
— Expand agri-environment schemes to
consider:
— "flood storage" as an option
under ELS/HLS through the creation of multi-functional washlands
— promote grassland in upper catchment
areas to reduce run-off from arable land
— Resolve the issue of responsibility
for maintenance of SUDS
— Ensure that River Basin Management
Plans take full account of climate change
— Encourage water companies to adopt
catchment management schemes to reduce the need for intensive
treatment works through the Periodic Review
RESPONSE FROM
THE WILDLIFE
TRUSTS
1. The Wildlife Trusts welcome the opportunity
to provide evidence to this Efra Select Committee Inquiry.
2. There are 47 local Wildlife Trusts across
the whole of the UK, the Isle of Man and Alderney. We are working
for an environment rich in wildlife for everyone. With 720,000
members, we are the largest UK voluntary organisation dedicated
to conserving the full range of the UK's habitats and species
whether they be in the countryside, in cities or at sea. We manage
2,200 nature reserves covering more than 83,000 hectares; we stand
up for wildlife; we inspire people about the natural world and
we foster sustainable living.
3. The Wildlife Trusts are involved in water
policy issues at national, regional and local levels, and are
key players in wetland habitat management, restoration and enhancement
on the ground. We are represented on the Defra WFD stakeholder
group and the Defra Flood Risk Management Stakeholder group, represent
the environmental NGO sector on a number of River Basin District
Liaison Panels and Regional Flood Defence Committees.
4. The Wildlife Trusts are heavily engaged
in the planning system at national, regional and local levels.
We have been instrumental in helping to shape national planning
policy and its impact on wildlife, whilst at local level we scrutinise
and monitor more than 90,000 planning applications each year,
improving the environmental outcome of more than 1,200. We are
active in the energy and climate change debate focussing on: landscape
scale conservation that enables wildlife to adapt to the impact
of climate change; policies to reduce outputs of greenhouse gases;
encouraging behaviour change and demonstrating sustainable business.
5. The Wildlife Trusts believe that land
use planning and flood management policies all have the potential
to contribute significantly to habitat restoration and enhancement,
providing a mechanism for adaptation to climate change and landscape
scale conservation, contributing to ecosystem services.
6. We would be pleased to provide further
information in relation to this submission.
SUMMARY OF
EVIDENCE OF
IMPACTS
7. The recent flooding has caused significant
social and economic problems, which will last well beyond the
floodwaters dissipating. The Wildlife Trusts are actively involved
in communities throughout the UK and are acutely aware of the
impact the flooding events have had and will continue to have
on residents and businesses in the long term in those areas affected
during June and July. A number of our own offices were flooded,
and many nature reserves owned or managed by The Wildlife Trusts
were also severely inundated and were temporarily closed.
8. Our evidence of impact will relate to
wildlife and our own nature reserves, but our evidence for changing
the approach to flood management demonstrates a method which works
with natural solutions, rather than against them, addressing the
causes of flooding rather than the impact, subsequently bringing
benefits to people, the economy and wildlife by reducing flood
risk, and providing more robust habitats for wildlife.
Ground-nesting birds
9. Coombe Hill Nature Reserve in the Severn
Vale, Gloucestershire is an area of wetland that normally floods
in the winter months, but this summer flooding has been terrible
for ground nesting birds such as lapwing, skylark and redshank,
which were rearing young. As a result of flooding, all young not
at the flying stage will have perished. This will cause a serious
set back in population growth, which is just beginning to establish
itself following recent habitat restoration work.
Invertebrates
10. Many invertebrates were badly hit by
the recent flooding. Smaller numbers of invertebrates also has
a knock on effect for the many species that rely on them as a
food source. This problem has already arisen for bats. In July
mother bats are normally busy feeding on a host of insects, in
order to be able to produce enough milk for their one bat "pup".
The wet weather has reduced the number of invertebrates and prevented
the bats from being able to hunt, forcing many mothers to abandon
their babies or face starvation themselves.
11. Many insects will be scarcer next year,
as a knock-on effect from this summer. But most have the capacity
to breed rapidly, and will make up the losses in a single year,
if the weather is better for them.
Rare animals and species
12. Rare animals whose populations are already
depleted, which have retreated to a scatter of small sites, are
particularly vulnerable. The flooding was catastrophic for small
mammals like voles and mice. This will have a serious knock on
effect for predators like the barn owl which rely on them for
food.
13. The water vole, once abundant throughout
Britain, has disappeared from many areas because of habitat loss
and the depredations of American Mink. If isolated pockets of
water voles drowned in the floods, there may be no others within
water vole travelling distance to recolonise. In 2002 localised
extreme flooding in Derbyshire resulted in 80% of habitat loss.
Counts have indicated that these areas still haven't recovered.
14. The rare Swallowtail Butterfly, in the
Norfolk Broads, may have been hit by flooding while it was a caterpillar,
so may be very scarce even in its strongholds next year.
Flood storage nature reserves
15. Potteric Carr is one of a number of
nature reserves designed as a water storage area. Potteric Carr
alleviated flooding for South Doncaster, for approximately 10,000
homes. During the recent flooding, the wetland site retained a
significant volume of floodwater and was closed to the public
until mid-August. In addition, the wetland plants filter the water
coming in, so when it leaves the site the water quality is much
improved.
THE WILDLIFE
TRUSTS ASPIRATION
16. The Wildlife Trusts aspire to an environment
where natural processes are recognised as providing ecosystem
services, where the same solutions to flooding benefit wildlife,
people and the economy. Flooding in the right places can be beneficial
for wildlife. Adopting the right solutions to flood management
will bring improvements to water quality and water quantity, leading
to a significantly improved water environment.
A MORE SUSTAINABLE
APPROACH TO
MANAGING THE
WATER ENVIRONMENT
17. Although the recent flooding is, in
part, due to extreme rainfall, climate change predictions suggest
this type of event will become more frequent. Floods are a natural
occurrence and the environment (including people and wildlife)
does have the ability to recover. However, as a result of land
use change, water moves through catchments faster than ever before
and has significantly less natural storage space. Flood defences
have separated rivers from floodplains. Consequently, the natural
system is imbalanced and flooding has become more extensive, as
rivers are unable to cope with increasing amounts of water, which
seeks new pathways overland and through urban areas.
18. Water which enters populated areas must
be discharged as quickly as possible to reduce the risk to people
and property. Hard defences should be maintained and used where
they are needed, which is most likely to be in urban areas. However,
flood defences are more likely to fail in the event of extreme
flood events, so we should be looking at alternative solutions
in the wider catchment to take the pressure off flood defences.
19. A combination of approaches to flooding
will lead to solutions which bring multiple benefits. Changing
our approach to rural land use can help to hold water away from
urban areas, reducing the speed at which it reaches downstream
areas. Flooding surrounding land and retaining water upstream
allows water to be slowly released into the catchment once water
levels have receded.
20. Sustainable approaches can also be taken
in the urban environment, through the use of Sustainable Urban
Drainage Systems (SUDS) and flood resilient measures. Development
should be sited away from floodplains to reduce the risk of flooding
to homes and businesses.
Restoration of river systems
21. Rivers have been disconnected from their
historic floodplains by the construction of flood defences and
the physical modification of river channels. This has had knock-on
effects to species which have floodplain habitat. Reconnecting
rivers with their floodplains and designation of supplementary
flood storage areas will reduce the impact of flooding further
downstream and bring secondary benefits to biodiversity.
22. Wetland areas hold water in the catchment,
until the river has returned to its pre-flood level, when the
water is then released back into the river. The outcome is that
land available for water storage is significantly increased and
habitats are reconnected as part of the natural riverine system.
STAFFORDSHIRE WASHLANDS
23. The Staffordshire Washlands Project
started in 2003 to promote healthy and biologically diverse rivers
and their associated floodplain habitats, in a landscape managed
for the sustainable use of water, with natural fluvial processes
encouraged to create new geomorphological features. Through working
at the catchment level, the creation of multi-functional washlands
(ie for biodiversity and flood storage) will also take the pressure
off flood defences on the River Trent. Modelling work to date
has shown that while issues relating to urban development and
drainage are important, in this catchment run-off from rural tributaries
is a major factor in the cause of flooding, particularly during
sustained rainfall events.
Reduce urban runoff
25. Increased development and the "right
to connect" results in drainage networks being unable to
cope with significant volumes of rainfall. The increase in impermeable
surfaces in urban areas also exacerbates the problem of urban
flooding. In London alone, gardens equal to an area of 22 Hyde
Parks have already disappeared.
26. Incorporating SUDS into all new developments
will reduce the pressure on urban drainage systems. A more sustainable
urban drainage network reduces the proportion of impermeable surfaces,
has increasing capacity to retain water, reducing the likelihood
of flooding in homes and businesses.
27. Garden plants and soil systems work
like a giant sponge, soaking up rainwater and allowing it to evaporate
slowly and steadily. In conjunction with the development of "Green
Infrastructure" the amount of impermeable surfaces in urban
areas will reduce. Wildlife benefits through the creation of "stepping
stones" and corridors to migrate through urban areas.
THE POTENTIAL
FOR SUDS IN
HULL
28. Hull is in a unique position in that
95% of the population lives on the floodplain. In populated floodplain
areas the risk to people and property from fluvial and tidal flooding
is much greater. However, the interim report on the June 2007
floods in Hull reported that the flooding was caused by poor drainage
of surface water and evidence so far does not suggest that fluvial
flooding was a problem.
29. Had SUDS been incorporated into new
development on the floodplain, this would have reduced the pressure
on the urban drainage system. This would also reduce the need
for the proposed costly upgrades of the urban drainage system.
Ensuring that all new development includes SUDS will reduce the
future risk of flooding from surface water runoff by attenuating
flows and can also bring added value to a community through amenity
space and biodiversity value.
Restore good land management practices
30. Extensive drainage of upland areas,
overgrazing and burning has led to an increase in peat erosion
and subsequently, a reduction in the ability of the uplands to
hold water. Wildlife will benefit from restoration hydrological
conditions in the uplands, which will also improve the ability
to store water and improve water quality. Run-off from the chalk
hills in the Lincolnshire Wolds which resulted in severe flooding
in Louth and Horncastle is attributable to intensive arable land
use, which reduces the ability of soil to absorb water. Reducing
arable intensification will allow water to recharge aquifers,
reducing the risk of flooding from surface run-off.
31. Lowland areas have been extensively
drained in order to maximise agricultural production which has
had a devastating impact on wildlife. During normal flood events,
water moves rapidly through the system, increasing the rate at
which it reaches rivers and streams and consequently the speed
at which it reaches downstream areas. During extreme flood events
it is not always rivers bursting their banks which causes farmland
to flood. Drainage ditches are often unable to empty, due to elevated
river levels which leads to flooded farmland. Wetland creation
can be incorporated into existing land management whilst at the
same time retaining a viable farming base, if properly designed
and implemented. There are areas of land along river valleys that
could easily be returned to wetland to provide flood storage areas
with the added bonus of increased biodiversity.
32. Where water is stored offline, peak
river flows are weakened and delayed, reducing the pressure on
flood defences.
RIVER HULL
HEADWATERS
33. The River Hull Headwaters project has
been running since 2000, initially to create new areas of habitat
suitable for water vole, water shrew, European otter and harvest
mice. The land use changes that have been implemented to achieve
the project aims have gone on to raise awareness of the way in
which land can be managed to reduce the impact of flooding. On
a farm-by-farm basis, wetland features have been introduced into
the landscape, including pond creation and off-line river features.
Other steps have been taken to improve water quality, including
fencing of rivers to prevent stock entering the watercourse. The
funding has been used to provide infrastructure for guided walks.
This benefits the farming economy and provides a visitor experience,
as well as improving biodiversity in the area and contributing
to a landscape which is managed in a more sustainable way.
The Wildlife Trusts
September 2007
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