Wetlands... sent from above?

It's no secret that our weather is getting worse, this time last year we were blanketed by a thick layer of snow, and now we are facing the third brutal storm in less than a month. Both events are abnormal for the UK, could climate change be to blame? Chief MET scientist Dame Julia Slingo that "all the evidence" is pointing toward climate change as an explanation for the extreme weather.
With rain continuing to batter the UK causing chaos pretty much everywhere, is there anything that could be done to reduce the catastrophic effects of the worst floods we've had in decades?
Well thankfully, David Cameron has come to the rescue with the gallant statement "Money is no object in this relief effort. Whatever money is needed we will spend it." So worry not, everything that has been damaged in the record-breaking deluge will be fixed or replaced... until next time.
The main methods currently in place to reduce flooding include;

Dredging - A process where silt is removed from a river bed to increase it's water capacity. The method is costly and potentially harmful to the environment.

Flood Barriers - Temporary demount-able lightweight metal structures that are used to keep rising water levels at bay.

Look pretty don't they? Sure they work, but they are a temporary solution to a more permanent problem which needs to be addressed. Funny how the leaders of this country only begin listening to people when disaster strikes. Speaking on a visit to Purley (a severely flooded town on the River Thames) Labour leader Ed Miliband said: "It's clear that flood defence needs to be more of a priority for government. If there's one thing we know about the effects of extreme weather, it is that the costs, financial, human and other costs, of not acting are much greater than the costs of acting, and it is a totally false economy to say, 'Don't act'."


The government needs to start acting now listening to scientists who suggest natural flood management systems, as prevention is always better than a cure.

The welsh government is planning to invest £20m into flood control, but how exactly would this help? The Minister for Natural Resources, Alun Davies, has broken it down like this...

• £7 million for flood defense improvements to protect 627 homes and 72 businesses in Crindau, Newport 
• £6 million for river management works and improvements to tidal defenses to reduce flood risk for 387 homes, 52 businesses and the fire station in Roath, Cardiff 
• £1 million to fund the replacement of flood defense walls that will help protect 127 homes, 15 businesses and the main road through Penclawdd, Swansea
• £1 million for improvements to tidal embankments along the Severn Estuary to reduce the flood risk to part of the M4 motorway, 833 houses and 197 businesses in Portland Ground and Tabbs Gouth, Newport 
• £5 million to improve existing flood defense walls that will help protect 166 homes, 102 businesses, the fire station and ambulance station in Dolgellau, Gwynedd

Replacement, improvement and management of man made defence systems seem to be the key words in this list but could this investment be put to better use elsewhere, for example in conserving and improving wetland systems?

Could wetland systems be a natural way to prevent flooding?

A joint statement prepared by English Nature, the Environment Agency the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) and the Forestry Commission state that

Drainage of floodplains is a relatively recent historic phenomenon. For example, the Somerset Moors were largely untouched before 1200, and systematic drainage of large areas did not get underway until about 1770. By the 1930’s only a quarter of historic floodplain wetlands remained in England, mainly in the form of periodically flooded grassland and grazing marsh. The vast majority of natural floodplain woodland has also been lost.

Somerset has been severely affected by the recent floods, would there have been a different outcome if the Somerset moors weren't drained all those years ago? Probably.

Wetland systems are often undervalued in the UK, peat-lands alongside rivers can act as natural sponges trapping water during periods of heavy rainfall. Wetland vegetation slow the speed of flood waters distributing them slowly, reducing erosion and flash flooding. In areas where peat-land has been drained in favour of agriculture (Somerset Moors) the risk of flash flooding, much like we've seen in the past month, is increased.

Preserving and restoring wetlands, together with other natural practices such as the re-introduction of the Beaver into the UK (BBC article here) can provide a valuable level of flood control which should be taken into serious consideration if the government want to prevent flooding in the future.