sustainable flood resistance approaches to reduce flood risk in the uk

University of Birmingham 1087457 Fadil Karim

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SUSTAINABLE FLOOD RESISTANCE APPROACHES TO REDUCE FLOOD RISK IN UK Department of Civil Engineering 1087457 University of Birmingham Fidel Karim

University of Birmingham 1087457 Fidel Karim

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In assembling the Sustainable Flood Resistance Approaches to Reduce Flood Risk in the UK, I would like to thank the writer’s of the works which were used for the compilation of this Executive Summary Report, without whom, it would not be possible to write. I was incredibly impressed with the shear amount of information available at the University of Birmingham Library and would like to thank the staff there for their support. I would also like to thank Dr. Tang, of the University of Birmingham, for making himself available, should I have needed any support. In addition, Finally, I would like to thank Cube Designs, my father’s company, for the Flood Risk Assessment, which was carried out by AAH Planning Consultants, for a property in Wandsworth, London. Fadil Karim Birmingham, UK January 2014


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TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................................ ii Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................ 1 Aims and Objectives ............................................................................................................................................... 2 Literature Research and Background ..................................................................................................................... 3 Raw Information ..................................................................................................................................................... 4

Rainwater Catchment ......................................................................................................................................... 4 Building Placement ............................................................................................................................................. 5 Flood Resiliance .................................................................................................................................................. 5 Flood Resistance ................................................................................................................................................. 5 Social Media........................................................................................................................................................ 5

Argument ................................................................................................................................................................ 6 Discussion ............................................................................................................................................................... 7 Analysis ................................................................................................................................................................... 8 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................................................. 9 Recommendations ................................................................................................................................................ 10 Appendices ........................................................................................................................................................... 11

Appendix A ........................................................................................................................................................ 11 Appendix B ........................................................................................................................................................ 12

References ............................................................................................................................................................ 13


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University of Birmingham 1087457 Fadil Karim

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INTRODUCTION Flooding in the UK is a major problem in certain parts. In the year 2012 alone, the UK’s second wettest year on record, almost 8000 properties were floodedi. Flooding causes a major hindrance on local businesses as it creates barriers for consumers. Flooding occurs through a combination of eventsii:

Heavy rain causing rivers and streams to overflow, creating floodwater Heavy rain can also cause run-off flows over land and down hills and slopes Coastal storms can cause the breaching of flood defences Ground absorbing rain causing ground water levels to rise and flood

These events cannot always be prevented. Any measures taken by designers can be overwhelmed. In fact, nearly 2 million homes are at risk from flooding. For this reason we must prepare to be as well protected as possible from any floods. There are a few different methods by which we can prevent and/or reduce damage to structures and this report will investigate the best ways to reduce the risk to the population, and to decrease the time it takes for normal life to continue. When flooding occurs, structures and housing need to be protected because having safe and secure structures in a flooded area is crucial in order for the local population to have a place to stay that is as safe as possible until they can be rescued and relocated to a safe location. If flood resistant technology is incorporated into houses and apartments, this will effectively buy more time for people who may be hiding in their houses. Houses can be regarded as safe zones for longer periods. Furthermore, the repair costs to the houses can be reduced. Flooding also damages the local economy. This is because, the water causes massive disruption and people cannot get around easily. Additionally, businesses will not be able to function properly due to the massive decrease in demand, along with the inability to provide for any potential demand. This problem is particularly a problem for shops as many of their stock will be destroyed by the floodwater. Lowering the flood risk will decrease the time spent clearing up the mess and rebuilding. This means that the local economy can resume sooner, hence normal life can continue as soon as possible.


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AIMS AND OBJECTIVES It is well-known among the engineering community, that anything is possible. It is completely possible to make an entirely flood-free environment. Huge coastal barriers can be designed and implemented to prevent rivers from bursting their banks. However this is not feasible as nobody wants to live in an environment which is surrounded by huge walls which block the views. For this reason risk must be reduced for when the current feasible flood defenses fail. There are many approaches to reduce this risk and the aim is to find out the strengths and weaknesses of the most sustainable approaches, and decide which is the most effective. The best approach should cause the greatest drop in fatalities and significant reductions in repair costs after floods. This report will look at various methods of risk reduction such as building placement, flood resilience, flood resistance and social media methods etc. We will provide research which will consist of information on the sustainable technologies that may be incorporated as well as data collected from areas where the flood resistant systems have been implemented to provide a discussion which will argue the advantages and disadvantages of each approach, in order to find out the most effective system.


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LITERATURE RESEARCH AND BACKGROUND Preparing for Floods, West Yorkshire WS Atkins Consultants Ltd., Office of the Deputy Prime Minister Interim guidance for improving the flood resistance of domestic and small business properties October 2003 Improving the flood performance of new buildings Department for Communities and Local Government: London, Environment Angency Authors: Pam Bowker BA (Hons), Manuela Escarameia MSc CEng MICE EurIng and Andrew Tagg BSc MSc CEng MICE MCIWEM Flood resilient construction May 2007


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RAW INFORMATION As mentioned previously, there are many sustainable systems that can be implemented to reduce the flood risk in a flood prone area. Many of these methods can be used in the UK. RAINWATER CATCHMENT One such system that can be used is rainwater catchment. This is when rainwater is collected from the roof and pavement, and stored in a tank. This tank can be stored underground, or to save on costs, can be stored in the loft of a house. However a loft installation would not be able to store as much water due to size and weight limitations. This sort of system will reduce run-off rates of flow during heavy rain.iii Figure (1) shows a diagram of an underground catchment tank connected to a house.

iv Underground storage systems can cost around £1000-£3000v

Figure (1): Rainwater Catchment Tank


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BUILDING PLACEMENT The building placement approach is one where the structures are built specifically in logical locations where they are placed, based on the structures flood-risk. For example, a public service building such as a fire station or a police station will need to be placed in a low flood risk area, where as a docking station can be placed in a high flood-risk area as it must be placed by the water, and it is more acceptable to be flooded than the two previous structures. FLOOD RESILIANCE This approach involves designing the structure in such a way that when the flood water enters, minimal damage occurs, hence this reduces the cost of repairs and the disruption to residents and the community while they wait for the restoration of their home. The difference between flood resilient structures and conventional structures is the fact that the designers must choose certain materials and components for various parts of the house that are less prone to damage by floodwater. These material and components will unsurprisingly be more expensive than the usual construction materials/components as they have been engineered to be more durable. Building a house with this type of approach will cost considerably more. In fact it will cost an average of £10,000 - £30,000. FLOOD RESISTANCE Flood resistance is the approach that prevents water from entering the structure. This will be very useful for houses and apartments as it will buy the tenants more time to move their more precious belongings to higher floors during a flood. This method is usually used when building placement is not easily implemented. It is particularly useful for shallow floods, and has the useful feature of buying time for the tenants during higher floods.vi SOCIAL MEDIA The social media approach is the cheapest option. This strategy requires the local council to create a social media page such as a Facebook or Twitter page that can post updates and flood risk alerts the local community. Usually these alerts are broadcast on the BBC local news channels on television, however, due to the rise of internet usage and the decline of television viewing over the years in the UKvii, the internet can be utilized to warn the community of predicted flood risks. This would allow the local population to prepare for the disruption. This approach gives people the option of making plans to try and reduce risk and disruption.


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ARGUMENT Rainwater Catchment systems can reduce run-off flow rates during heavy rain and are economically useful for the owners; however they do little to reduce the height of water during heavier floods. Although they do slightly reduce run-off rates, we need a very large number of them in order to have any real effect on the height of the floods. Building Placement, on the other hand, is more useful, as it uses intelligently placed buildings. It is a very useful technique as higher ground is less prone to flooding. This reduces the cost of repairs of the building that buildings that have been built higher up. However with the growing populationviii, available land mass will decrease with the increased demand in for housing increasing. What's more, this doesn’t solve the problem of reducing flood risk for the greater population, as simply avoiding construction of structures in flood prone areas will waste a lot of empty space. Social Media can be utilized effectively, but cannot be considered as an independent approach. Creating a social media page requires minimal effort and costs nothing. In fact, due to its nature, it is already being used, as people who use these sites generally share articles, information and photos of issues which concern them such as Flood risk. Forcing local councils to create social media pages will take the social media risk reduction to the next level, as the council can give the most up to date and trusted advice, along with trusted links to interesting articles. Its only negative feature is the fact that elderly people may not have access to a social media account to be able to access the information.


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DISCUSSION Considering the information, Flood Resistance and Flood Resilience are the most effective approaches. This is because they directly tackle floods and allow us to work around them more easily. Houses should be built with a combination of these technologies. These technologies cost a lot more than the others; however, although this is the case, the overall cost of repairs, after just one flood will be much less.ix As Water Catchment systems are only useful during heavy rain, due to their limited storage capacity. Due to the price range of the average tank, the water catchment tank is not a sustainable technology against flood resistance. It is however economical to the owner as it will save on water bills in the long term, however this report is not investigating economical benefits, unless they are directly related to flood risk reduction. Due to the fact that the Building Placement approach requires designers to build certain structures on higher ground, this limits the options available to the planners. This means that, Building Placement is not sustainable due to the limited options when designing schemes as there may not always be convenient higher, less flood prone, ground available to build on. In fact, the UK government doesn’t allow housing structures to be built in high flood risk areasx; however it may be necessary to build in these areas. Hence, we cannot rely on building placement as a sustainable flood resistant approach. Social Media is crucial in today’s everyday life. For this reason, it is a very sustainable defence against flooding. What makes it so strong is the fact that it gives people the choice to act in preparation, while also giving advice that is easily accessible at any time. The only problem, as mentioned earlier, is the fact that the elderly may not have access. However, the page can be promoted by posting flyers through letterboxes with instructions on how to use certain social media sites. The cost of doing this is minimal. Many people, not just the elderly, who still don’t want to use social media will still not benefit, however, the graph in Appendix B shows the shear amount of people who do use social media, and how fast it grew compared to other technological advances. Having considered this, social media should be used as a sustainable approach to flooding, but only when combined with the flood resistance and flood resilience approaches.


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ANALYSIS The most sustainable approach is a combination of flood resilience and flood resistance. With social media added to give the population more control. While it may seem odd rather strange to have a combination of having one system that is usually used in structures that allow water into the structure (flood resilience) and another that actually prevents damage once water enters the structure (flood resistance), having a combination of the two allows the two systems to work together. For example, when dealing with low to medium flood heights, the flood resistance system will be fully utilized. However, during medium to high flood heights, the flood resilience system will be utilized due to the failure of the flood resistance system. Also, if the resistance system fails, the tenant will have more time to move any valuable possessions to higher floors. Social Media is technically already being utilized by the population, as people share photos and news articles with each other. Photos of floods are definitely shared immediately among people affected. However a council-run social media page will help to further aid people that are affected by the floods by giving them more of a choice for preparation.


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CONCLUSION To conclude, the most sustainable flood resistant approach to reduce flood risk in the UK is a combination of three systems. Two are completely design based (flood resistance and flood resilience), and one is information based (social media). These approaches not only buy the affected population some more time, but give them more of a chance and a choice to plan ahead. They also positively affect the local economy recovery after flooding disaster. Many aspects, such as flood gates and the external wall repairs, of the design-based technologies can be added to existing houses. Some, such as adding lime plaster inside the walls, may be a bit more difficult to add to existing structures that don’t already have it but the price paid to do this will be less than the price paid in the event of a flood.


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RECOMMENDATIONS


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APPENDICES APPENDIX A


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APPENDIX B The Rapid Rise of Social Mediaxi


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REFERENCES i Mark Kinver. (2013). Met Office: 2012 was UK's second wettest year on record. Available: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20898729. Last accessed 10th Oct 2013. ii WS Atkins Consultants Ltd. (2003) Preparing for Floods, West Yorkshire: Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. iii Robert Barker. (Unknown). Rainwater catchment. Available: http://www.architecture.com/SustainabilityHub/Designstrategies/Water/1-3-1-2-Rainwatercatchment.aspx. Last accessed 30th Oct 2013. iv Eco Rain Solutions, (2013), Rainwater Catchment Tank [ONLINE]. Available at:http://ecorainsolutions.co.uk/Storage/htmluploads/f1b0vmzt.jpg [Accessed 30 October 13 v Tanks Direct Limited trading (2013) Rainwater Harvesting Tank Below Ground Garden Kit, Available at:http://www.tanksdirectuk.co.uk/rainwater_harvesting_kits/rainwater_harvesting_tank_below_ground_garden_kit(Accessed: 30th Oct 2013). vi Robert Barker. (2013). Flood resistance. Available: http://www.architecture.com/SustainabilityHub/Designstrategies/Water/1-3-2-4-Floodresistance.aspx. Last accessed 30th Oct 2013 vii Tim Bradshaw (21st Jan 2010) Continued UK decline in TV ad revenues seen, Available at: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ba84a726-05df-11df-8c97-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2op39VfEI (Accessed: 2nd Nov 2013) viii Unknown. (2013). UK population: how will it change over the next few decades? Available: http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2013/nov/06/uk-population-increase-births-migration. Last accessed 3rd Nov 2013 ix Robert Barker (2013) Flood resilience, Available at:http://www.architecture.com/SustainabilityHub/Designstrategies/Water/1-3-2-3-Floodresilience.aspx (Accessed: 7th Nov 2013) x Pam Bowker BA (Hons), Manuela Escarameia MSc CEng MICE EurIng and Andrew Tagg BSc MSc CEng MICE MCIWEM, for the Environment Agency (2007) Improving the flood performance of new buildings, London: RIBA Publishing. xi Mckinsey Global Institute, (2012), The Rapid Rise of Socail Media. Available at: http://www.ehulool.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/ChartOfTheDay_02082012_The_Rapid_Rise_of_Social_Media_n1.jpg [Accessed 20 Nov 2013

sustainable flood resistance approaches to reduce flood risk in the uk

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