Author(s): Medha; Vassilis Glenis; Claire Walsh
Linked Author(s):
Keywords: Natural Flood Management Catchment-based Approaches Upstream Measures CityCAT Fluvial Flooding
Abstract: Natural Flood Management (NFM) focuses on pro-active flood management using upstream measures to lower the risk to human life and economic damages at the receptor. NFM features have been designed as a response to increasing frequency and intensity of floods due to climate change and increasing urbanisation. Various NFM demonstration schemes have been implemented in the UK, such as in the Upper Wear Catchment, County Durham, UK. These schemes face challenges in future application and wider adoption due to the limited quantification of their flood reduction effectiveness compared to more traditional flood control measures. The quantification has focused on individual features and for catchments of small sizes, i. e., less than 100km2. This paper aims to explore the impacts of offline and online runoff attenuation ponds spread throughout the catchment with the size of 199 km2. The impact of these upstream measures is quantified downstream at the outlet of catchment of the Upper Wear Catchment at Stanhope, County Durham, UK. The impact has been quantified using CityCat, a fully coupled hydrodynamic model which allows for representation of the features at their location and accounts for flow routing through the catchment.
Year: 2025