Abingdon - river management - town in south west england

Question 1

Why does Abingdon flood?

Answer 1

• A town was built on the floodplains of the river Thames and the river Ock
• intense storms in July 2007 caused particularly bad flash floods - the river Thames and the River Rock burst their banks
• increased surface run-off in built up areas made the flooding even worse

Question 2

Effects of flooding

Answer 2

• ## 1500 properties in Abingdon have a 1% chance of flooding in a given year

Question 3

Types of soft engineering

Answer 3

• gravel soakaways have been built along the A34 road
• low-valued land is allowed to flood e.g. Tilsley park sports ground is being considered as an additional flood storage area
• tescos were forced to revise recent extension plans, had to add drainage improvements - including soakaways and permeable tarmac
• there are restrictions on land use e.g. planning permission was refused for buildings on the Thames floodplain
• planning restrictions on new housing developments, if built on ock flood plain must therefore improve drainage