Download Peatlands and flooding

Floods on the increase
What are we doing?
Further reading
With events like the summer floods of 2007 and
2008 becoming a more regular occurrence, flood
risk management has never been so important.
Major floods that previously only happened every
100 years may now start to happen every 10 or 20
years. The flood season may become longer, with
flooding in places where there has never been any
before.
The good news is that the North Pennines AONB
Partnership, working with conservation partners and
landowners, is undertaking a long-term project to
block the drainage grips that pattern the North
Pennines landscape.
Other Peatscapes project leaflets
available from the North
Pennines AONB Partnership
include:
More than 200 km (125 miles) of moorland drains in
Northumberland, Cumbria and County Durham,
have been blocked in 2008 by building peat dams in
drainage ditches at regular intervals to stop the flow
of water. Once blocked, the ditches fill with water
and begin to revegetate.
¥ From peat to global
warming — what is peat and
why is it so important?
Mechanical grip
blocking
One way to protect
against flooding at the
local level is to block
the grips that drain
water off the moors.
Water will be stored up
until the point that the
blocked grips are full
and the surrounding
land saturated. Only
then, when the land has
reached full capacity,
will the rainwater drain
away into the river
catchment.
Manually blocking grips in the North Pennines
For more information about the Peatscapes
project, visit www.northpennines.org.uk and go to Special Projects
This leaflet has been produced as part of the North Pennines AONB
Partnership s Peatscapes project with the support of:
The North Pennines AONB Partnership holds a Gold GTBS
Award for its corporate office and tourism activities.
All uncredited photographs ' North Pennines AONB Partnership
The Northumbria Regional Flood Defence Committee has provided the
majority of Peatscapes core funding as part of its work towards flood
reduction, upland management improvements and combating climate
change.
To find out more, contact:
North Pennines AONB Partnership Staff Unit,
Weardale Business Centre,
The Old Co-op Building,
1 Martin Street, Stanhope, County Durham DL13 2UY
Tel. 01388 528801
Email: [email protected]
www.northpennines.org.uk
Grip blocking is one
method, in conjunction
with other approaches,
that can be used to
achieve an overall
reduction in flood risk in
areas further
downstream.
After grip blocking: notice the bright
green ‘strip’ of new vegetation
growing in the blocked grip
¥ Living history — how peat is
revealing the past
' P Evans @ www.flickr.com/photos/fredspoonphotos
A typical grip: a drain cut
through the peat
At two sites,
monitoring
equipment is
collecting data
on how
restoration work
affects flooding,
water colour
and carbon
storage.
¥ Land management and
water colour in the North
Pennines
We can provide a summary of the
information contained in this publication
in large print, different formats and other
languages on request. Please call 01388
528801 for details.
Some grips are re-profiled using special machinery
This leaflet is printed on 150gsm Greencoat Plus Velvet (80% recycled post-consumer
fibre, 10% Totally Chlorine Free virgin fibre, 10% Elemental Chlorine Free).
After you have finished with this leaflet please give it to someone else to read, or
recycle it.
09/08/5000
Flood risk management covers a variety of activities
to prevent rivers and streams overflowing. These
range from the flood defences you might see around
your local rivers and streams, to less visible land
management strategies that keep rainfall locked up
in the landscape and out of the river system.
Peatlands and
fl oodi ng
Climate change and flooding
The UK needs to take action now to cope with the
challenges that climate change could bring in the
future.
Scientists believe that climate change is already
having an impact on life in the UK. Floods, droughts
and turbulent weather are causing problems that we
need to tackle now. Increased rainfall means many
communities are at a greater risk of flooding than
ever before. Government scientists expect flooding
to occur with greater frequency and intensity as the
About grips
effects of climate change are felt across the country,
with householders facing more flood damage, more
disruption to travel, and higher insurance costs.
There is no single answer to these problems. We
need to do everything we can to tackle our changing
weather patterns, making a collective effort to curb
climate change.
One thing we can use to help reduce flooding and
the effects of climate change is under our feet, here
in the North Pennines p e a t !
Research funded by the AONB Partnership shows
that there are 9,400 km of grips in the North
Pennines, of which 6,500 km are still active, draining
water from the blanket bog.
The AONB Partnership s Peatscapes project is
working with Natural England, the Environment
Agency, Northumbrian Water and others to coordinate grip blocking efforts, creating healthy
peatlands that contribute to flood risk management.
' Rob Riddle
Peat is a highly absorbent organic material that
forms in cold, waterlogged, acidic conditions. This
type of environment favours the growth of mosses,
especially certain sphagnum species, which are
important in peat accumulation. As plants die, they
gradually decompose and the organic matter
accumulates as peat. Peat forms very slowly, at a
rate of about one millimetre a year.
Peat — curbing climate
change, fighting floods
Protect our peat!
Peat can help tackle the flooding threat in two ways:
1 Soaking up rainfall
Unfortunately, the peat of the North Pennines is
riddled with grips, large drainage channels slicing
through the landscape. These are a result of outdated land management policy and they contribute
to the problem of
Grips are man-made drains that cut
flooding.
Importantly for moderating flood risk, peat acts like a
giant sponge absorbing rainfall, slowing its flow into
into lower-lying ground.
Sustainable management of our landscape holds the
key to long-term flood reduction. By increasing the
land s capacity to hold excess water, the risk of
flooding could be reduced and we could save the
misery and mess faced by flooded householders.
2 Storing carbon
Peat is an important carbon store. By keeping our
peat wet, we prevent it from releasing this carbon
into the atmosphere.
Over five billion tonnes of carbon are stored in UK
peatlands. That is equivalent to nearly a year s
worth of global greenhouse gas emissions — and is
well worth keeping locked up! You can read more in
another of our leaflets: From peat to global warming.
An aerial photograph showing grips in
the North Pennines. The regular
straight lines are all grips
Because peatlands provide many benefits, we want
to make sure they stay wet and intact, soaking up
rainfall and storing carbon.
' Countyside Agency/Charlie Hedley
What is peat?
Grips cause water
to flow more freely
off the moors and
into our
watercourses,
making flooding
more likely. By
blocking these
grips, we slow the
progress of
rainwater into
streams and
lowland rivers,
potentially reducing
the flooding threat
to towns and
villages
downstream.
across the peat, channelling water
into the catchment areas further
downstream. By blocking grips
(below) water run-off is slowed down
' Environment Agency