Opportunity mapping of natural flood management measures: a case study from the headwaters of the Warwickshire-Avon

Abstract

The use of natural flood management (NFM) measures to address severe flooding received considerable public attention during December 2015–January 2016 storms. Within the Warwickshire-Avon Catchment, UK, high arable and improved grassland land cover with small, isolated communities at risk, lead to the exploration of novel techniques that use farmland high up in flood-prone catchments to hold water and reduce outflow discharge. This paper will discuss the methodology used to identify areas in the Warwickshire-Avon, which could be used to install NFM measures to attenuate the storm peak and provide wider ecosystem services, principally addressing total phosphate and sediment entering the receiving watercourse. This involved constructing a GIS database of catchment geomorphological characteristics whilst simultaneously engaging with those significant stakeholders of farmers and landowners to capture local input and produce a model for applied NFM for future projects looking to explore the role of working with natural processes (WwNP) for flood risk reduction within the agricultural environment. The advantages, disadvantages and key lessons learnt are also presented in this paper, to recognise the benefits and limitations of communities and catchments exploring such methods for flood risk management (FRM).