Flooding: five lessons we have learned

What our washed-out winter has taught us Concrete is no longer a solution For centuries flood protection has meant building ever higher walls and radically straightening and clearing rivers, to rush water ever faster to the sea. But a more crowded island, rising sea levels and increasing extreme weather caused by climate change mean the hard engineering approach is hitting its limit. Dredging is a prime example: experts say it would not have prevented flooding in the Somerset Levels, nor drained the water significantly quicker. A desire for immediate action is understandable, but a massive amount of rain has fallen on the Levels, far greater than the capacity of the river channels, and large parts of the Levels are below sea level – the water has to go uphill to the coast. Instead, a back to nature approach is being successfully tested to return water systems to the sluggish, slow systems they once were, using fields as temporary ponds, blocking up drains and even allowing fallen tr
http://www.waterdamagenationwide.com/flooding-five-lessons-we-have-learned/