Chalk flooding project
The costs and impacts of groundwater flooding in the UK are significant and almost certainly underestimated. Recent examples include the widespread disruption and damage for many communities in southern England in the winter of 2000/2001 and the flooding of Chichester in 1993/94. The Chalk is the most vulnerable aquifer because its storage characteristics lead to rapid and large changes in groundwater levels, which can result in unexpected flooding events. However, there are no currently available methodologies applicable to any of the major UK aquifers that link rainfall to groundwater flood risk. NERC has therefore funded research with the HYDRA consortium under its FREE programme (Flood Risk from Extreme Events), commencing April 2007. The project will build on historic data from the Pang and Lambourn catchments, and current EU-funded research on the South Downs. The aims are:
- To develop an improved conceptual model of the processes occurring in groundwater flooding in Chalk catchments.
- To develop a methodology for linking existing and new models within an integrated decision support system.
- To undertake case studies to test the conceptual model, investigate system response, and demonstrate the utility of model integration.
- To assess the potential for future changes in groundwater flooding frequency using the integrated modelling system and a range of GCM/RCM scenarios.
- To develop and evaluate simpler methods for forecasting and regional assessment of groundwater flood risk.
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