Tthe evaluation of the performance of source control measures

by

Acknowledgement

I would take this opportunity to thank my research supervisor, family and friends for their support and guidance without which this research would not have been possible.

DECLARATION

I, [type your full first names and surname here], declare that the contents of this dissertation/thesis represent my own unaided work, and that the dissertation/thesis has not previously been submitted for academic examination towards any qualification. Furthermore, it represents my own opinions and not necessarily those of the University.

Signed __________________ Date _________________

Abstract

In recent years, an apparent increase in the frequency and severity of ?oods in the UK has led to growing concerns about societal exposure and vulnerability to ?ooding, particularly in the context of climate change, ?oodplain development and changing insurance practices. Despite the important link between assessments of exposure to ?ooding (hazard assessments) and issues of societal vulnerability, this link has rarely been explored in detail and has often been re?ected in policy terms by a highly technocratic approach to ?ood risk management. Indeed, more comprehensive studies have usually favoured rigid and deterministic de?nitions of vulnerability, in keeping with the wider technocratic paradigm pervading management institutions. In an attempt to redress the balance, this paper considers the role of hazard assessment and issues of societal vulnerability as mutually informative debates and advocates a movement away from the technocratic ideals currently favoured in the UK.

Table of Contents

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION6

Groundwater Source Control Measure Development8

Background of the Study10

Research Aims and Objectives14

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW15

Urban system interaction elements16

Use of Source control17

Urbanization effects on fluvial floods19

Urban storm water flooding20

Floodplain development21

Social impacts of flooding22

Urban governance26

Perceptions and experiences of flood risk28

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY30

CHAPTER 4: MAIN BODY32

Potential and limits of responding to risk perceptions34

The hazard: urban flooding36

Urban governance38

Perceptions and experiences of flood risk40

CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION42

Institutional framework for managing ?ood in the UK42

Flood hazard assessment43

Hazard mapping44

Areas and hazards covered46

Uncertainty in monitoring and modeling ?ood events47

Hazard mapping: the way forward?50

Case Study Analysis52

Flood resilient waterfront development at risk from the river52

Water storage in high density urban areas in the United Kingdom54

CHAPTER 6: SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION56

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Flooding has long been recognized as one of the UK's most damaging and costly natural hazards (e.g. Newson 1975; Handmer 1987; Purseglove 1988), with a long history of ?ooding from both tidal and ?uvial sources (e.g. Law et al. 1998; Lamb 1991). It is increasingly accepted that such events may become more frequent and severe in the future, as a result of climate change and sea level rise (e.g. Environment Agency 2001), together with land use changes and urban development.

However, determining the precise effects of these changes remains difficult in practical (policy) terms. In the UK, ?ood management policy has traditionally favored technological solutions to hazard reduction and focused primarily on the construction of hard-engineered defenses, yet the long-term sustainability of ?ood defenses must be questioned in the light of climate change and ?oodplain development pressures.

Furthermore, a large proportion of existing capital works will approach the end of their operating lives over the next decade (SCA 1998), and the ...