The solution to the UK’s growing flood risk is lots more wetlands

This post is by Emma Pollitt, policy and advocacy officer at the WWT, the charity for wetlands and wildlife.

Thousands of homes flooded and crops rotting in the fields have been the recent devastating impacts of storms Babet, Ciarán and Debi, which have cruelly exposed quite how unprepared the UK is to the risks of flooding. Climate change is bringing heavier rain and stronger storms, with over five million properties (one in six) at risk in England alone.

By over relying on traditional concrete and steel flood defences, the government’s most recent National Adaptation Plan falls short of properly protecting UK businesses and communities.

That’s not to say that traditional flood defences aren’t important, but more wetlands are needed to work alongside them in many places to ensure full protection. Of course, there are some areas where creating or restoring wetlands isn’t possible or appropriate, but they can be created upstream to  complement traditional flood defences. By slowing the flow, wetlands reduce the negative impacts of traditional flood defences that speed floodwater up. They also reduce the strain on traditional flood defences, making them last longer.

We can just add water to manage flooding

It might sound counterintuitive but adding water in the right place can be a natural, sustainable and cost effective way to manage flood risk. Wetlands reduce flooding by storing and absorbing excess water or rain and slowly releasing it, also known as Natural Flood Management (NFM). It works differently to traditional concrete flood defences which simply divert floodwater (and its impacts) to other places, often increasing the flow which can mean a bigger, more adverse impact somewhere else.

The Two Valleys project, pioneered by WWT and the Environment Agency, is an excellent example of how NFM can reduce flood risk and deliver wider environmental and societal benefits. Crucially, the project worked in partnership with farmers and other landowners, businesses, local contractors, and parish councils to bring back natural protective features which had been lost over time. The project has been a great success and has created new leaky dams, water storage areas and riparian (streamside) tree planting across the upper and mid catchments. WWT also shared knowledge and skills with the local communities to help raise awareness and ensure support for this work in the future, through workshops, community events, a toolkit and individual parish-level flood risk maps.

WWT is also working in the Thames region to encourage and support flood risk managers and other stakeholders to use more NFM. WWT experts provide much needed advice about how to work with nature to reduce the risks, share best NFM practice, provide peer-to-peer learning opportunities and help projects access funding.

Wetland-based measures are not only excellent at reducing flooding, they lead to other benefits too, such as cleaning water, storing carbon and greater access to nature, all while providing new wildlife-rich habitats.

Funding levels are inadequate for the scale of the challenge

The government has recognised the importance and advantages of more wetlands, along with other NFM techniques like tree planting. Although, in principle, the government has committed to incorporate them into more flood management projects and bring them the mainstream, changes in policy, funding, evidence and guidance will be needed to make it happen.

Funding for NFM has increased but it has yet to match the scale of the challenge. Of the £5.2 billion the government has allocated for managing floods and coastal erosion over the next five years, only £25 million (plus other ad-hoc funding) is dedicated to NFM.

WWT has estimated that at least an extra £130 million from the Flood Grant In-Aid pot should be ring-fenced to ensure that NFM can be included in every flood management project where feasible. Centralised guidance and training should also be given to land managers, planning authorities and practitioners on creating and managing wetlands for flood resilience. And there should be a nationally recognised accreditation scheme setting standards for best practice in wetland creation, restoration and maintenance.

To show how more wetlands in the right places across the country can, and should, be created for the good of communities and the environment, WWT has just released the Wetlands for Flood Resilience route map. This outlines the potential of wetlands in the UK and what could be done to expand this powerful natural flood solution.

In the wake of recent weather events, reminding us of the risks we face, there has never been a more important time to improve the UK’s flood resilience. More wetland projects can help us adapt to climate impacts and contribute to a ‘blue recovery’ from the climate and nature crises. We are calling for the creation and restoration of 100,000 hectares of UK wetlands by 2050 to achieve it.