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drought
May 2009 
Flood Warning!
Posted on Jul 24th, 2007
by 
Chris
Chris
After worrying about drought here on the Mawddach estuary during April, since June we've once more been living in temperate rainforest, to the great benefit and relief of our many species of lichens, liverworts and mosses and me. Phew.
However, the regularity of rainfall, every two or three days, combined with sudden intense downpours has resulted in massive flooding in other parts of Britain. Again, the lack of an integrated land management policy lies at the root of it all.
Heavy rainfall on the sheep grazed Welsh hills results in huge quantities of run off filling major rivers such as the Don, Dee and Severn. Flood barriers serve only to concentrate and accelerate the flow and just pass the problem further down stream, hence the devastating flooding in parts of Herefordshire and Worcestershire, to name a few places. The denuded uplands of Wales are replicated in the Pennines and elsewhere, laying the foundation for future catastrophic flood events throughout lowland Britain.
So how do we manage landscapes to cope with both drought and flooding? The best place to store water is as high up in the landscape as possible. Further, most water storage takes place in the soil, not in reservoirs etc. Of the total water available on the planet, 11% is stored in soils as opposed to less than 0.5% in dams, lakes, reservoirs and rivers. Generally within a few hours of the cessation of rain, run-off ceases and reservoirs and streams are fed by water from soil storage. Thus by paying attention to strategies for creating and building soil we can increase the water storage capacity of the landscape.
Enter permaculture design as an integrated strategy with environmental, social and personal benefits. As permaculture designers we've been working on this world-wide for thirty years. Check out my web site for some of the things I've been doing:
www.konsk.co.uk/resource/techniques/water/water.htm
and keep an eye out for work in progress, resilient landscape design. If we switched agricultural subsidies to natural regeneration projects, blanket bog restoration and contoured access routes that double as swales (to infiltrate water into soils) we would not only reduce flooding and drought but also rejuvenate our ravished rural communities, providing useful employment and resources such as bio mass for bio fuels, among many other products. Perhaps our political leaders will at last start taking notice.
One final point is that the price of food is set to rocket as large scale industrial, mechanised farming is simply unable to cope with unpredictable weather. As I write the BBC is informing me that up to 40% of the pea crop has been lost due to flooding and even the Archers have been unable to get their big combine out due to waterlogged fields; serious stuff indeed. Make way for local food initiatives, market gardens, veggie box schemes and of course, permaculture design as the integrating strategy.
However, the regularity of rainfall, every two or three days, combined with sudden intense downpours has resulted in massive flooding in other parts of Britain. Again, the lack of an integrated land management policy lies at the root of it all.
Heavy rainfall on the sheep grazed Welsh hills results in huge quantities of run off filling major rivers such as the Don, Dee and Severn. Flood barriers serve only to concentrate and accelerate the flow and just pass the problem further down stream, hence the devastating flooding in parts of Herefordshire and Worcestershire, to name a few places. The denuded uplands of Wales are replicated in the Pennines and elsewhere, laying the foundation for future catastrophic flood events throughout lowland Britain.
So how do we manage landscapes to cope with both drought and flooding? The best place to store water is as high up in the landscape as possible. Further, most water storage takes place in the soil, not in reservoirs etc. Of the total water available on the planet, 11% is stored in soils as opposed to less than 0.5% in dams, lakes, reservoirs and rivers. Generally within a few hours of the cessation of rain, run-off ceases and reservoirs and streams are fed by water from soil storage. Thus by paying attention to strategies for creating and building soil we can increase the water storage capacity of the landscape.
Enter permaculture design as an integrated strategy with environmental, social and personal benefits. As permaculture designers we've been working on this world-wide for thirty years. Check out my web site for some of the things I've been doing:
www.konsk.co.uk/resource/techniques/water/water.htm
and keep an eye out for work in progress, resilient landscape design. If we switched agricultural subsidies to natural regeneration projects, blanket bog restoration and contoured access routes that double as swales (to infiltrate water into soils) we would not only reduce flooding and drought but also rejuvenate our ravished rural communities, providing useful employment and resources such as bio mass for bio fuels, among many other products. Perhaps our political leaders will at last start taking notice.
One final point is that the price of food is set to rocket as large scale industrial, mechanised farming is simply unable to cope with unpredictable weather. As I write the BBC is informing me that up to 40% of the pea crop has been lost due to flooding and even the Archers have been unable to get their big combine out due to waterlogged fields; serious stuff indeed. Make way for local food initiatives, market gardens, veggie box schemes and of course, permaculture design as the integrating strategy.
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