The question is not simply how quickly the money can be spent, although there is a time-frame of 2 years from the government, but this gives us time to be strategic.
The question is whether the decisions made today will leave Somerset better able to cope with flooding, drought and climate change for decades to come.
Too often we treat flooding, drought and pollution as separate problems.
But water does not work like that.
The same rivers that burst their banks in winter can run low in summer. The same damaged catchments that struggle to hold water during heavy rainfall can leave communities vulnerable to drought a few months later. Climate change is making both extremes more frequent and more severe.
Longrun meadow oak barn, flooded
If we are serious about resilience, we have to stop treating these issues in isolation and start managing water as one connected system.
That means looking at whole catchments, from our uplands and headwaters, through farmland and wetlands, to our rivers, towns and the Somerset Levels.
The £50 million flood resilience programme is an opportunity not just to tackle flooding, but to create a healthier and more resilient water system for Somerset as a whole.
There is no need to choose between traditional engineering and nature. Somerset needs both.
Flood defences, pumps, sluices and other engineered infrastructure will always play an important role, especially in a highly managed landscape like the Somerset Levels. But if we want to build real resilience for the future, we also need to work with nature.
Across the UK and around the world, we are seeing that engineering solutions alone can struggle to keep pace with increasingly frequent and intense weather caused by climate change. They can also be expensive to maintain and upgrade over time.
Nature-based solutions help by slowing, storing and filtering water across the landscape. Wetlands, floodplains, healthy peatlands and restored rivers can all play a role in reducing flood risk while helping communities adapt to a changing climate.
These solutions deliver much more than flood protection. They can improve water quality, lock away carbon, support wildlife, create healthier places for people and help landscapes cope with both flooding and drought.
The most resilient water systems combine the strengths of engineering and nature. The question is not which approach we choose, but how we bring them together to deliver the greatest benefit for Somerset.
The evidence for Natural Flood Management (NFM) and Nature-based Solutions (NbS) continues to grow. The Environment Agency's latest evidence review concludes that natural approaches such as wetland restoration, floodplain reconnection, woodland creation and river restoration can play an important role in reducing flood risk while delivering wider benefits for biodiversity, water quality and climate resilience. [gov.uk], [gov.uk]
Research commissioned by The Wildlife Trusts and undertaken by Stantec found that NFM projects generated, on average, £4.47 of benefits for every £1 invested over 10 years, increasing to £10.79 for every £1 invested over 30 years when wider environmental and social benefits were included. [wildlifetrusts.org]
Running for more than 13 years, the Stroud Valleys NFM scheme is one of the most high profile Nature Based flood risk management scheme in the UK. It is resource light with the support of an officer in the Council and has benefited from active engagement by community formed flood action groups, who when looking into the design and implementation chose to go the NFM route. The scheme has worked with 70 different land owners and managers to deliver 1252 interventions throughout the catchment. Combinating the high level assessments of the value bought for the work done to both reduce flooding and improve the wider natural environment, including using EA validated methodology is £51,227,280 from an investment of just £2.2M over the period of the scheme.
Pickering flooded in 2007, before the flood prevention scheme was introduced. Image: Kevin Borman (Pickering: slowing the flow - Hodder Education Magazines)
In North Yorkshire, the Slowing the Flow project in Pickering combined woodland creation, flood storage and natural flood management measures across the catchment. Independent analysis estimated flood peak reductions of around 15-20%, helping to prevent flooding to homes and businesses while creating wider benefits for nature and local communities. [forestrese...rch.gov.uk], [safag.org]
In Hampshire, the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust has worked with communities and landowners across the Watercress and Winterbournes landscape to use natural flood management measures to address local flood risk. The project demonstrates how catchment-scale approaches can bring together residents, farmers and public bodies to reduce flood risk by working with natural processes rather than relying solely on engineered interventions. [hiwwt.org.uk]
Closer to home, Somerset already has examples of how restoring wetlands, reconnecting floodplains and recovering peatlands can help retain water in the landscape while supporting wildlife, improving water quality and increasing resilience to both flooding and drought. Evidence from the Holnicote Estate showed how restored wetlands not only reduced flood risk to downstream properties by 38% but also retained water even in extreme drought keeping the surrounding habitats healthy, and slowing the flow of water when rain arrived. The internationally important Somerset Levels have been managing water for centuries; the challenge now is investing in solutions that help them continue to do so in a changing climate.
The most resilient water systems combine the strengths of engineering and nature. The question is not which approach we choose, but how we bring them together to deliver the greatest possible benefit for Somerset.
Ham Wall RSPB Nature Reserve, Somersel Levels, Somerset, June 2011 - Paul Harris/2020VISION
Public funding on this scale should deliver long-term public benefit.
The priority should not simply be which projects can be delivered most quickly. It should be which investments will leave Somerset more resilient in ten, twenty and fifty years' time.
That means prioritising projects that:
• Reduce flood risk across whole catchments.
• Improve resilience to drought as well as flooding.
• Restore natural hydrological processes.
• Deliver benefits for communities, farming and wildlife.
• Continue providing value long after the funding has been spent.
The programme should be ambitious enough to tackle the root causes of water challenges, not just their symptoms.
As funding decisions are made, Somerset residents and UK tax payers deserve to know how success will be measured.
Success should not be defined by how much money has been allocated or how many projects have been completed.
Success should mean:
Most importantly, success should be assessed transparently so everyone can understand what benefits have been delivered from this major public investment.
This £50 million belongs to the people of Somerset, paid for by the tax-payers of the UK.
We welcome Somerset Council's commitment to developing a strategic programme and involving partners in the process. We also believe residents have a right to understand how decisions are being made and what outcomes will be achieved.
We encourage people to contact their local Somerset councillors and ask:
Somerset has been given a rare opportunity.
Let's make sure this £50 million is spent in a way that delivers the greatest possible benefit for people, nature and the future resilience of our county.
