🌧️Case Study - Pickering Beck

Question 1

What is Pickering Beck?

Answer 1

A river in North Yorkshire

Question 2

How far does the beck run for?

Answer 2

29km (18 miles)

Question 3

Which National Park is the beck located in?

Answer 3

The North York Moors

Question 4

Why is the river prone to flooding?

Answer 4

Due to the steep sided valley that the water runs off into the beck

Question 5

Which government scheme was piloted in the town?

Answer 5

‘Slowing the Flow’

Question 6

When does the beck flood in particular?

Answer 6

In the summer, flash flooding

Question 7

How many times was the town flooded between 1999 and 2007?

Answer 7

4

Question 8

How much did the 2007 flood cost in damage?

Answer 8

£7 million

Question 9

How can rainfall increase chance of flooding?

Answer 9

Rainfall in the area is heavy and hydrographs flashy. Peak discharges fluctuate

Question 10

How does the geology affect flooding?

Answer 10

It consists on Gritstone and Limestone, permeable and porous allowing the water to flow through. Soil is also soft and sandy, so permeable, slow lag time

Question 11

How does the local relief affect flooding?

Answer 11

The drainage basin has steep relief in the hills of the North York Moors, decreasing time taken to reach the river

Question 12

How does the vegetation affect flooding?

Answer 12

Largely moorland shrubs and heather, growing in peat bogs which can soak up water, preventing run off and further flooding. If water is redirected for agriculture or forestry, peat dries out

Question 13

What are the main land uses in the river catchment area?

Answer 13

Arable crops
Improved grassland
Heather Moorland
Forestry and woodland

Question 14

How has the town impacted flooding?

Answer 14

Impermeable surface increase run off rates

Question 15

How have farming practices impacted the river?

Answer 15

Farming has lead to diffuse pollution, lowering the water quality

Question 16

What was adopted to manage flooding?

Answer 16

A land management technique instead of hard defences

Question 17

What was constructed at Newtondale?

Answer 17

A large low level bund to hold up to 120,000m3 in flood events to store water

Question 18

What was planted around the river catchment?

Answer 18

19ha of hydrophillic plant such as alder and willow trees to create a natural barrier to flood flows

Question 19

What was constructed in the river catchment?

Answer 19

Large woody debris damns, and natural gullies to help water drain from moorlands into forests

Question 20

How many Large Woody Debris Dams have been constructed in Pickering Beck catchment?

Answer 20

129

Question 21

How much farm woodland has been planted?

Answer 21

15 ha

Question 22

How many heather bale dams have been constructed?

Answer 22

187

Question 23

Why were no-burn zones established?

Answer 23

As burning has the potential to speed up run off by lowering interception and promoting hydrophobic soil conditions

Question 24

What has been created in terms of no burn zones?

Answer 24

A 10 metres wide buffer zone along the main watercourse

Question 25

How big is the catchment area?

Answer 25

68km2

Question 26

What does the catchment area contain?

Answer 26

Moorland, arable farming and coniferous forests

Question 27

When was it flooded

Answer 27

Back in 1999, 2000 and 2007

Question 28

What was flooded in 2007?

Answer 28

85 properties and the main A170

Question 29

What does the large, flat moorland receive near the source?

Answer 29

Large amounts of water which flows quickly to the Beck when the moorland is saturated

Question 30

What is there a risk of and why?

Answer 30

Summer flash floods due to the steep catchment

Question 31

What is there a high variability of?

Answer 31

Discharge of the river from year to year

Question 32

Geology and soil type

Answer 32

Gritstone and limestone, peat, soft sand substrate - mixed permeability

Question 33

Human causing of flooding

Answer 33

. Inappropriate cultivation of arable soils . Overstocking and overgrazing of grassland . Excessive moorland . Forestry drainage

Question 34

Why have many management strategies been rejected?

Answer 34

Cost benefit grounds due to low value rural catchment areas and intervention in the wrong area

Question 35

What has the beck failed to meet?

Answer 35

Good water standards

Question 36

What is a major local issue?

Answer 36

Diffuse water pollution

Question 37

What has the beck been designated as

Answer 37

A priority catchment for improving land management under England Catchment Sensitive Farming Initiative

Question 38

What has worsened water quality?

Answer 38

Farming and poor treatment of land

Question 39

What policy has been adopted and what does it aim to do?

Answer 39

‘Slowing the flow’ to reduce peak flow in Pickering through land management

Question 40

How much of the land is under public ownership?

Answer 40

1/3

Question 41

What is the current unsustainable management strategy?

Answer 41

Engineered flood defences, need to develop a catchment approach

Question 42

Main principles of management

Answer 42

. Slow water at the top of the catchment . Store water in the middle of the catchment . Improve water flow passing through the middle of the catchment

Question 43

Riparian woodland

Answer 43

Plant communities along river margins - hydrophilic plants

Question 44

How many hectares of native woodland to they plan to plant?

Answer 44

50 ha of native woodland in strips 30m wide either side of the water course

Question 45

To date how many ha of riparian woodland have be planted?

Answer 45

19ha within Pickering Beck and a further 10ha in River Severn catchment

Question 46

Low level bunds

Answer 46

Water stored on the floodplain for short periods, once peak flow has passed this water will drain back naturally into the channel

Question 47

Where is the low level bung being built?

Answer 47

In the floodplain at Newtondale

Question 48

How many large woody debris dams have been built?

Answer 48

129 in Pickering Beck catchment, 38 in River Severn catchment

Question 49

What do large woody debris dams allow?

Answer 49

Allow slower moving water through which had previously been removed

Question 50

Targeted woodland creation and farm scale measures

Answer 50

Woodland can help to protect sensitive soils

Question 51

How many hectare of farm woodland have been planted within the River Severn catchment?

Answer 51

15 ha

Question 52

How many heather bale dams were constructed on smaller streams and why

Answer 52

187 - to hold more water back and improve water retention

Question 53

How many eroding footpaths have been repaired?

Answer 53

800m

Question 54

What zone was created?

Answer 54

10m wide no burn buffer zones established along main watercourse

Question 55

Why was a new floodplain treated?

Answer 55

To allow 4,200,000 cubic feet of floodwater to be retained

Question 56

Will these management strategies work?

Answer 56

Too early to tell but it would demonstrate it is a cheaper sustainable approach to flood management if they do work