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HOWSOUTHWELL’SFRAMESPROJECTIMPROVEDFLOOD-RISKRESILIENCE

Duringitsthree-yearlifespanSouthwell’sFRAMESprojectimprovedflood-riskresilienceinthepresentdayandforthefuture.

Thisnewslettersharessomeoftheproject’ssuccesses.

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FRAMESinvolvedpilotprojectscollaboratingacrossfivecountriesandaimedtointegratetheMulti-LayeredSafetyApproach(MLSA)intofuturefloodriskpolicy.

MLSAcombinesflood-preventionengineeringmethodswithspatialplanningandmeasurestoboostcommunityresilienceandrecovery.Combined,thesefour“layers”(seediagram,right)improveoverallflood-riskresilience.

All16FRAMESpilotshavedemonstratedthesuccessofthismodern,integratedapproach.

TheSouthwellFRAMESPilot

TrentRiversTrust(TRT)ledtheSouthwellPilotproject,whichsoughttoimprovefloodresilienceinSouthwellthroughnaturalfloodmanagement(NFM)interventionandcommunityengagement.

TheSouthwellcatchmentis6km2andfeaturesclaysoilswithsteeptopography.Thetownitselfhasahistoryoffloodsincludingtworecentevents,a2007winterflood,andthe2013summerfloodatwhich107.6mmofrainfellin75minutes;around250propertieswerefloodedandthemainroadoutofSouthwellcollapsed.

TRTworkedwithSouthwellFloodForum,theNationalFloodForumandNottinghamshireCountyCounciltodeliverthisFRAMESproject,“ImprovingFloodResilienceinSouthwell.”

JoshWells,projectmanager,saysthreekeylessonswerelearnedduringSouthwellFRAMES:

• Communicationisvital:withlandownersandstakeholders,• Collaborateandinvolveallstakeholders,whichmeanscuttingacrossbothgeographicaland

politicalboundaries,• Monitoring:wemustmonitoranddocumenttheimpactoftheprojectandpassthis

knowledgeonandleavealastinglegacy.

IMPACT:NFMinterventionscanhelptostorewaterandreducefloodrisk

SouthwellFRAMESdemonstratedthatnaturalfloodmanagement(NFM)interventionswithintheuppercatchmentoftherivercanhelptostorewaterandreducefloodrisk.

Workingcloselywithlandowners,TrentRiversTrustinstalled43NFMmeasuresacross12landholdings.Thesenowprovidearound4000m3ofwaterstoragewithintheuppercatchment.

AleakybarrierinSouthwell

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TRTinstalledanumberofdifferentNFMinterventionstoachievethisvolumeofwaterstorage:

Cornerofthefieldbunds(above)withinagriculturalland,toreduceoverlandflowduringhighintensityrainfallevents.Theseweremonitoredusingtimelapsecameraswithdatashowingthattheyfillduringintenserainfallanddrainoncehighflowshavepassed.

Leakybarrierswithinfarmditchesandwatercourses.Theyreducethespeedofanyfloodwavesintothetownandprovidefurtherstorageandfloodplainre-connection.

Raisedcrossdrains(right)alongfarmtrackswhereoverlandflowwasdocumented.Previously,waterwasflowingontothemainroadduringhighrainfallevents;thecrossdrainsnowdivertthiswaterintoconstructedbundsandhaveimprovedsafetyandresiliencelocally.

IMPACT:Treeplantingcreatesnewwoodland

Theprojectcreatedanew0.1haareaofcrossslopewoodland,with190treesplantedwithinafieldintheuppercatchmentbyTRTandNottinghamTrentUniversitypostgraduatestudents.

Thewoodlandwillincreasesoilinfiltrationratesandevapotranspirationwhilstincreasingthelocalbiodiversityvalueofthearea.

IMPACT:Buildingsocialcapitalandcommunityresilience

ThefloodpreparednessandawarenessoftheSouthwellcommunityhasincreased.Residentsaremoreresilientandhavetakenonsomeresponsibilitiestomanagefloodrisks.Thiswasaccomplishedthroughphysicalanddigitalcommunication,communityeventsandworkingcloselywithbusinessownersandtheSouthwellFloodForum.

IMPACT:Wetlandscrapesaddwaterstoragecapacityandcreatenewwetlandhabitats

ConstructingwetlandscrapesontheGreet.Photo:CMBContracting

WeconstructedwetlandscrapesalongtheRiverGreet,connectingthemtothewatercoursetoincreasefloodplainstoragecapacityandtocreateadditionalwetlandhabitats.

Thisworkincludedtheremovalofadredgingbanktoincreasefloodplaininundationfrequencyupstreamofthetown.Thescrapescreateanextra1000m3ofwaterstoragewhichbecomeactiveduringhighflows.

Ponds(right)werealsoconstructedwithinthecatchmenttoholdwaterwhilstprovidingadditionalhabitat.

Again,timelapseimagerydemonstratedthattheyfillduringhighfloweventsandthendrainoncepeakflowhaspassedandsoapositivebenefitofthestoragepondshasbeenrecorded.

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IMPACT:studentsgetSuDSappealwithrunoffcutoff

Severalsustainabledrainagesystems(SuDS)measureswerepilotedinSouthwellthroughtheproject.

RaingardenplanterswereinstalledontheNottinghamTrentUniversitycampusandplantedbystudentvolunteers.

Theplanterstemporarilyattenuaterunofffrombuildingswhichwouldotherwiseenterthedrainagesystem.Theylookgreattoo,soimprovethevisualappealofthestudentaccommodation.

Araingardenplanter

PROJECTDISSEMINATIONANDCOMMUNICATION

TrentRiversTrustworkedwithstakeholdersthroughoutthisproject,buildingtheircapacitytoaddressfloodriskandtheirknowledgeabouttheMulti-LayeredSafetyapproach.

Ourcommunicationanddisseminationactivitiessoughtto:

• Increasestakeholders’,policymakers’anddecisionmakers’knowledgeandunderstandingoftheuseofNFMwithinfloodriskmanagementprojects;

• IncreasetheirknowledgeandunderstandingoftheMulti-LayeredSafetyapproach;• Facilitateknowledge-exchangebetweenfloodriskandresiliencepractitioners;• Collectandsharedataandevidencetoinformfuturefloodriskmanagementpolicy.

NATIONALANDINTERNATIONALATTENTION

Atotalof178organisationswereinformedaboutthesuccessesandlessonslearntduringtheproject.Wehavegivenpresentations,talksandlecturesto:

• TheTrentRegionalFloodandCoastCommittee.• TheNottinghamshireStrategicFloodRiskManagementBoard.• TheNottinghamshireBiodiversityActionGroup(apresentationanddemonstrationsitevisit,

whichincreasedtheknowledgeoflocalpractitionersontheuseofNFManditsabilitytoenhancetheenvironment).

• TheNottinghamOpenSpacessummitandduringtheEastMidlandsCouncil’sPlannersconference–thesepresentationsenhancedtheknowledgeoflocalpractitionersofthespatialapplicationofNFM.

• OurSeniorCatchmentManager,KimJennings,gavealecturetotheFluvialGeomorphologyandRiverManagementstudentsatNottinghamTrentUniversitytofurtherbuildtheNFMknowledgecapacityofearlycareerrivermanagers.

• TheRiverRestorationConferenceandtheWestminsterInsightConference,topromotetheprojectatanationalscale,withbothtalkswellreceivedandgeneratingplentyofdiscussion.

Wehostedmanysitevisitsduringtheproject,includingbyscholarsfromBeijing’sInstituteofWaterResearchwhichpromotedtheprojectataninternationallevel.

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PACKEDEVENTANDWIDESPREADMEDIACOVERAGESHOWCASESLEARNING

TowardstheendoftheSouthwellFRAMESprojectTRTconvenedtheFloodRiskManagementfortheNextDecadeconference,inNewarkinFebruary2020.ThisshowcasedSouthwell’sMLSapproachtoawiderangeofnationalpractitioners.Theeventalsohighlightedsuccessfulexamplesofcollaboration,effectivecommunication,useofpublic-domaindata,partnership-building,communityengagementandempowerment,andtheimportanceofmultiple,integratedmeasuresforfloodriskmanagement.

Thisfully-bookedeventdevelopedpractitionerunderstandingofNFMwhilstallowingfordiscussionoffuturefloodriskmanagementpolicy.

ItwascoveredinthemediabynationalUKmagazine,EnvironmentJournalandtheBBC,

whichbroadcastinterviewswithTRT’sKimJenningsandJoshWellseveryhouronitsafternoonandeveningnewsbulletins.

Aseriesofshortvideointerviewswitheventparticipantsalsocontributedtoourdisseminationandcommunicationactivities.Theinterviews,postedtoTRT’swebsiteandYouTubechannel,alsodemonstratehowtheMLSapproachintegratesengineeredmeasuresforfloodriskmanagementwithspatialplanning,emergencyresponseandresilientrecovery.

Throughthissubstantivemediacoverageandvideointerviews,theevidenceofSouthwellFRAMES’impactreachedthousandsmoremembersofthepublicatatimeofgreatinterestinpolicyandpracticerelatingtofloodriskandresilience.

WHATNEXT?

TRTcontinuestoadvocateforanintegratedapproachtofloodriskmanagementandresilience.WearenowdeliveringotherNFMprojectsacrossDerbyshire,Nottinghamshire,LeicestershireandStaffordshire.TRTisrecognisedfortheexcellenceourteambringtoallstagesoftheprocessincludingfeasibilitystudies,landownerliaison,design,constructionandmonitoring.

• Visitwww.trentriverstrust.orgtokeepintouch• EnvironmentJournalmagazine:Naturalfloodmanagementisessentialtoprotectcommunities

https://environmentjournal.online/articles/natural-flood-management-is-essential-to-protect-communities

• TheFRAMESwikihttps://www.projectenportfolio.nl/wiki/index.php/LC_00050• CoverageintheNewarkAdvertiserhttps://www.newarkadvertiser.co.uk/news/taking-

measures-to-tackle-flooding-9065025andITVCentralNewshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oy3X3HaJSfQ&feature=youtu.be(theBBC’s4minutesegmentfromFeb2020isnolongeravailable)

• JoshWells’presentationattheFloodRiskManagementfortheNextDecade:AMulti-LayeredSafetyApproachconferencehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EekH5Yyjnos

• Shortinterviewswithallspeakers(includingJoshWellsandTRT’sKimJennings)attheaboveconferencehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljJ0nmY6uN0&list=PLFZmk4Gsy4QPqC0ZB3JxzA15ZF34iRZHU