Making Landscapes More Flood Resilient

A wonderful exhibition has put forward a persuasive argument that a ‘landscape first’ approach to urban development, via innovative water management, could offer an effective solution designed to make our cities more resilient to flooding.

For more on this story please click on the following link – https://www.theguardian.com/cities/gallery/2015/jan/09/six-ways-city-landscapes-more-flood-resilient-in-pictures

The Importance of Flood Defences

It is likely to be many years before the UK begins to forget the devastating damage caused to homes, businesses and infrastructure caused by widespread flooding in early 2014.

Whilst people were quick to point fingers at a number of different organisations for dropping the ball in regards to dredging rivers and for building properties on floodplains, the truth is that with so many water-resistant surfaces currently in place, this was a disaster waiting to happen.

Why Is This a Problem?

It may sound fairly obvious in hindsight but if water cannot soak into a surface, it will either sit on top of it or spill off into drains and waterways which are highly likely to be overloaded.

When this happens, too much water arriving over a short period of time will overwhelm both natural and man-made drainage systems, resulting in homes and businesses in the area being put at severe risk.

What Can Be Done?

There are a number of steps which can be taken to reduce the threat of flooding posed in particular areas with one of the most effective coming from the addition of an absorbent layer to the roofs of buildings to slow the rate of rainwater runoff from roofs.

By doing this, the excess rainwater water can be retained for enough time to allow a slower release into SUDS or waterways.

The most eco-friendly absorbent layer there ever could be – is known as a living green roof and you can find all you need to know about Wallbarn’s green roofing solutions by clicking here.

Visit The Exhibition

If you would like to visit the exhibition detailed above, please click on the following link for further details –  Rethinking the Urban Landscape is at the Building Centre, London WC1, until 10 February and is co-curated by the Landscape Institute