Soft - Abingdon Flashcards
How many properties have a 1% chance of flooding each year?
1500 properties have a 1% chance of flooding in any given year.
Between 1950-2000 , how many times has Abingdon flooded?
Abingdon has flooded 5 times between 1950-2000
Intense storms caused particularly bad flash floods, when did this occur?
What were the effects of these flash floods?
Intense storms caused particularly bad flash floods in July 2007.
The river Thames and the River Ock burst their banks, flooding 660 properties in Abingdon. Increased surface run off in built up areas made flooding even worse.
Hard engineering defence mechanisms have been considered but rejected.
Why was a diversion spillway rejected?
Why flood barriers (like flood walls) rejected?
Diversion spillway - too expensive
Flood barriers - increase flooding downstream
What 4 types of soft engineering have been used by Abingdon to help reduce the effects of flooding?
-Land Use management
-Soakways/Altercation of urban surfaces
-Flood warning
flood advice and preperation
How has land use management been used to combat flooding in Abingdon?
Flood areas, floodplain, floodplain
- Low value land is allowed to flood. E.g. Tilsley Park sports ground is being considered as an additional flood storage area.
- Planning restrictions on new housing developments built on the Ock flood plain, stating they must have improved drainage systems.
- restrictions on land use- Planning permission was refused for buildings on the Thames flood plain
How has soak ways/ altercation of urban surfaced been used to help reduce the effect of flooding in Abingdon?
Gravel Soakways have been built along the A34.
Tesco were forced to revise recent extension plans- they had to add drainage improvements such as Soakways and permeable Tarmac.
How has warning/preparation been used to reduce the risk of flooding?
The EA (environmental agency’s) local flood warning plan warns specific areas at risk and provides a 24hour hot line.
Local voluntary flood wardens offer advise and warnings.
Detailed advice on the Internet about reducing flood damage e.g by raising cupboards an using water resistant plaster.
How has the use of the vegetation reduced the risk of flooding?
improvements to riparian buffers along smaller rivers. The planting of trees reduces the volume of water reaching the Thames and Ock rivers where the flood problem is greater
Riparian buffers - planting of trees and shrubs along river banks are called riparian buffers
To what degree are the flood defences in Abingdon successful ?
Difficult to measure as the reduction in flooding could be due to success of flood defences or weather conditions.
The EA issued several flood warnings in 2008.
The Ock flood plain, which is allowed developments, didn’t get flooded. the Thames floodplain did however get flooded, although this is largely clear of development. This shows the success of land use management and planning restrictions.
The 2008 floods did less damage than in previous years, with minimal cost, little disruption to community services, no lives lost and only a few injuries.
However flooding still occurs in Abingdon
Where is Abingdon built?
Abingdon is built on the flood plains of the river Thames an the river Ock
