RIVER SEVERN RESEARCH PROJECT

Source – Plynlimon Hills

Towns it runs through – Llanidoes / Caersws / Welshpool /

Shrewsbury / Wroexeter / Cressage /
Coalport / Bridgnorth / Highley /
Worcester / Tewkesbury / Gloucester /
Littleton / Severn Beach / Bristol

Mouth – Bristol Channel

River Severn Landforms

V-shaped valley

Formed by the small downwards erosion mainly

caused by gravity.

Interlocking spurs

Formed by the difference in rock hardness. A small river

flows slowly so has little erosion power. As it comes across
an area of hard rock, it will go around it, cutting the spurs
into the soft rock around it.

Waterfalls and gorges

Features like this are created due to hard rock layers

being above soft rock. Once the hard rock ends, the
water erodes downwards. The plunge pool sprays
water and small rocks backwards, eroding the soft
rock behind the waterfall. This then leaves the hard
rock suspended and will eventually fall causing
waterfall retreat. Once the waterfall has retreated
multiple times, a gorge is created.
Meanders

Meanders are formed when areas of hard and

soft rock meet. The river finds soft rock easier
and quicker to erode, so it carves its way
around the hard rock.

Tewkesbury 2007 Floods

20th July 2007 – Built on confluence of Severn and Avon

Two months worth of rain fell in 14hrs.
Flood water reaching 2m in some places

Impacts – 2 deaths
5000 homes affected
135,000 properties in Gloucestershire had no drinking water for 2 weeks.
48,000 homes had no electricity for 2 days.
825 homes evacuated.

Local councils - £140 million in repairs.

UK economy - £3.2 billion
9000 businesses affected
More than 180,000 insurance claims made.

Management on River Severn

HARD ENGINEERING - Dam - Clywedog Reservoir

HARD ENGINEERING – River Walls – Newtown

SOFT ENGINEERING – Dredging – Severn Estuary

Flood risk in UK

Increasing populations can lead to higher flood risk due to many factors such as
deforestation (where the trees would soak up the water for their own living), pressure on
sewers and also hard management techniques like flood walls in a town which would stop
meanders which could increase the velocity of the river.

As more land becomes urbanised, the land loses trees and bushes which soak up water, and
also if it becomes used for farming, irrigation systems would be used to ensure the crops
don’t flood, which could lead to flooding later on. The urban town would also have concrete
foundations which would not allow water to soak into the ground.

As climate change warms up the atmosphere, more extreme and prolonged weather events
occur. Things like tornadoes and hurricanes are more likely due to the increased wind
speeds. This can bring more rain to an area, which, if the conditions are right, can lead to
flooding.

In the Boncastle 2004 Floods, around 3.5 inches of rain fell in around 1 hour. Combined with
the 7 inches of rainfall that fell nearby, these led to flash floods. These floods were also
caused by the v shaped valleys that Boncastle is so near to, which funnelled the water
towards the village. In total, 34 died in the flood.

In the Somerset 2013 Floods, around 100 million cubic metres of water covered an area of
around 65 square kilometres. These floods were caused by the recent heavy rains that
saturated the Somerset Levels and also, the rivers had not been dredged so the water level
could only rise over the banks. In total, at least 17 died in the flood.

What could be done in the future to manage and prevent flood risk?

We could introduce better flood detection and warning systems, modify buildings and
homes to withstand floods using methods like building new houses above the recorded
flood levels.

On less direct methods, we could tackle climate change more harshly or use soft
engineering processes like afforestation and river restorations like remeadnering.