{"id":91,"date":"2018-10-04T11:27:35","date_gmt":"2018-10-04T10:27:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/brettcherry\/?p=91"},"modified":"2019-10-29T18:34:05","modified_gmt":"2019-10-29T18:34:05","slug":"testing-green-approaches-for-urban-flooding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ncl.ac.uk\/brettcherry\/2018\/10\/04\/testing-green-approaches-for-urban-flooding\/","title":{"rendered":"Testing green approaches for urban flooding"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThunder! Thunder! Thunder! Thunder! I was caught In the middle of a railroad track, I looked round and I knew there was no turning back\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

From the song \u201cThunderstruck\u201d by AC\/DC<\/em><\/p>\n

In June 2012 the city of Newcastle endured one of its greatest floods in history, infamously named the \u2018Toon Monsoon\u2019. It unleased 50mm of rainfall<\/a>, the equivalent of one month\u2019s rain falling within the span of two hours, and most of the flooding took place in the first 30 minutes. I remember it well, particularly people canoeing down Chillingham Road in the nearby neighbourhood of Heaton.<\/p>\n

I watched most of the carnage ensue from my upper floor flat on the top of Shields Road in Byker. At the time I was safe, many were not. More than 500 homes were flooded in the city and 1200 properties in total were affected. The collective damages caused by the deluge were large and the impact of ‘Thunder Thursday’ was felt throughout the city. Now Newcastle is a demonstrator city for blue-green infrastructure<\/a> focusing on practical solutions to reducing flood risk. Times have changed.<\/p>\n

Flooding is a major problem for many cities, particularly in the wake of climate change. It is generally agreed that rainfall has and will increase as a result of the anthropogenic warming of the Earth’s atmosphere<\/a>. What is less clear is how we prepare urban areas for flooding caused by intense heavy rainfall, especially if it occurs suddenly without warning. Cities are actually ideal test beds for new sustainable ways to mitigate flooding because they are usually densely populated, with mostly paved surfaces and have many buildings which are vulnerable to flooding.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Potential sustainable solutions to urban flooding have come under the banner of ‘blue-green infrastructure’. Infrastructure that is \u2018green\u2019 such as trees and other forms of vegetation, including gardens and parks, also serve as buffers or storage for rainwater. Infrastructure that is \u2018blue\u2019 stores water on the surface such as water butts, swales or ponds.<\/p>\n

Evidence exists for why cities should adopt more blue-green features to prevent flooding, but rigorous testing of green infrastructure is greatly needed. The science could make cities better informed about how it actually works and make flood planning more effective. Adapting to climate change is likely not as simple as planting more trees in cities, although it could play a vital role if done strategically alongside other green or blue features and grey infrastructure, such as sewers and storm drains.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Temporary surface water storage.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This is where the National Green Infrastructure Facility (NGIF) based in Newcastle University\u2019s Urban Sciences Building at Newcastle Helix comes in. It is the only ‘living lab’ of its kind to test various kinds of green infrastructure and how they interact with surface water.<\/p>\n

“A large part of what makes it a lab is actually what you can\u2019t see as each feature is carefully instrumented with high precision equipment for measuring, for example, the ability of different types of soil to soak up and store water. The trees have special sensors installed in them which measure how much water they transfer back to the atmosphere”. Dr Ross Stirling<\/a>, NGIF<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

There is no other facility like it in the UK and possibly the world, and is working closely with the water sector via Northumbrian Water Group to ensure findings are taken up by industry.<\/p>\n

The Facility\u2019s main remit is to:<\/p>\n