The Possibility of an Integrated Approach to the Provision of Storage in the Thames Region of the National Rivers Authority

Abstract

New development within a catchment normally causes increased and more rapid runoff. This may increase the risk of flooding and so storage of runoff from new developments is often insisted upon by the National Rivers Authority (NRA). The Flood Hydrology group of the NRA Thames Region has assisted the Planning Engineers in developing means of deciding where within a catchment storage of runoff is necessary, and where it is not. However, these methods have been based entirely on flood defence criteria. The NRA, as ’Guardians of the Water Environment’should be insisting on storage, not only to prevent increased flooding risk but also to minimise damage to river ecosystems, and wherever possible to enhance the river environment.