How can we reduce flooding in north Reading and Lower ?

What causes flooding in Reading and Caversham?

1947 flooding

Major floods, on the scale of 1947 are very rare… history shows they do happen, and could happen again. Photograph source unknown

North Reading and Lower Caversham have flooded many times in recent years. In 2012 and 2014, low lying areas of Caversham flooded, causing internal flooding to residential and commercial properties in the area. You may also remember the flooding in 2003, where many houses were surrounded by floodwater and a number of roads, including Napier Road, Amersham Road, Paddock Road, Send Road and Piggots Lane were closed, some for as long as 5 days.

The Environment Agency maintains rivers and streams and operates weirs and locks in and around Reading and Caversham. This work reduces flood risk from smaller, more regular floods, but more significant flooding cannot be reduced by watercourse maintenance alone. The best scientific evidence suggests that severe weather events are likely to be more frequent and more intense in future, increasing the risk of flooding across the .

We are investigating how we can reduce the impact from a major river flood on a scale similar to 1947. A similar sized flood would cause major disruption to the local economy, access routes and residents at large. It would create road blockages, transport disruptions and could cause water damage to homes and businesses. We take climate change projections into account in all modelling and planning work. Based on for the likelihood of more frequent flood events, we have identified a range of options which could reduce flooding in the north Reading and lower Caversham area. All options we are investigating reduce flooding from rivers, however surface water flooding is still a risk.

There is still a significant amount of investigation required, we are sharing the options with you now to gain your views so we can take them into consideration when deciding which, if any, of the options we can take forward. How can we reduce flooding in north Reading and Lower Caversham?

What have we done so far?

What areas are at risk of flooding from the River ? To work out how we can reduce flooding we must first understand the flooding mechanisms in the Reading and Caversham area. The main risk of flooding in north Reading and Lower Caversham is from the . Due to the flat urban landscape of Reading flood water can remain for long periods of time. The flood map represents the existing flood risk from the River Thames. The dark blue shows areas that are likely to flood in a large flood, we have not recently experienced a flood of this size. The closest comparison is the flooding in 2003 which was smaller. The lighter blue shows the additional areas that would flood in a major flood, such as was experienced in 1947.

Planning flood map Large flood Major flood Main river

Environmental surveys and ground investigation We have completed surveys to help us understand the Ecology in the areas where we could develop a scheme to reduce flooding. These have included surveys to establish what species may be present in the areas the works may take place. You may have seen our contractors carrying out ground investigations using diggers or drilling rigs as shown in the photograph. We have to carry out this work early so we can find out what may or may not be possible.

We are continuing our programme of surveys over the next few months. We will plan these to ensure there is as little disruption as possible. How can we reduce flooding in north Reading and Lower Caversham?

A Flood Alleviation Scheme for north Reading and Lower Caversham?

We have looked into a number of different ways to reduce flooding, the techniques here we have considered and may be used in combination with other techniques. On their own they only reduce flooding from smaller floods. For major floods they need to be used along side permanent measures such as flood walls and embankments.

Diverting flow Property level resilience We have looked into whether Property level resilience involves making changes to individual diverting flood water through the properties to reduce the risk of floodwater entering homes and area would reduce flood risk. businesses. It can be used in combination with larger This is very difficult to achieve flood alleviation schemes to reduce flooding. due to the lack of space, without There are a number of property severely impacting existing level resilience products, including residential areas. flood doors, door barriers, Flood storage areas automatically closing airbricks, non- return valves and sump pumps to On its own there is not enough avoid or minimise water getting room to hold the amount of inside a property. The level of their water needed to reduce effectiveness would be limited here flooding from major events. because flood water can remain In combination with other high for a number of days. However techniques to reduce flooding they could still help to reduce this could be beneficial. severity of flooding, especially if used in combination with other methods Temporary barriers Due to the length of temporary barriers that would be needed to reduce flood risk in this area, it would not be practical to rely on these alone. Some areas are not possible to access to get barriers in place. In combination with other techniques temporary barriers could be beneficial.

Example of Temporary Often prevention is the best Environment Agency members barriers being tested. strategy. setting up temporary barriers. How can we reduce flooding in north Reading and Lower Caversham?

A Flood Alleviation Scheme for north Reading and Lower Caversham?

Why isn’t dredging an alternative? Can natural flood management help? Dredging can be an important part of maintenance but is not These are processes that enhance the enough on its own to reduce flooding from a major flood. natural features of a river, to reduce flooding impact on a community. Methods The Environment Agency maintains rivers and streams and operates include slowing flow of water, improving weirs and locks. This work reduces flooding from smaller, more soil quality so more water is absorbed and regular floods, but more significant flooding cannot be reduced by creating more areas for water to be watercourse maintenance alone. stored.

Dredging can be an important part of the Environment Agency’s general maintenance programme. We consider each location carefully and do it where we know it will make a difference. Understanding where dredging will and won’t reduce flooding is essential. We must be sure it will reduce flooding to local homes and businesses and won’t increase flood risk downstream.

Dredging the River Thames would not significantly reduce flood risk in this area. In many cases, dredging isn’t the best long-term solution because rivers can quickly silt-up again. It can even increase flood risk. Studies have indicated the River Thames itself is self-regulating. Dredging can be costly, disruptive and environmentally damaging, These techniques can help reduce and would require frequent re-dredging as the natural tendency of all flooding from minor floods in some areas. rivers after dredging is to deposit silt and return to their more natural In this area they would not help reduce dimensions. flooding from major floods.

Flood walls and embankments

Embankments are raised lengths of land which will be grassed to give them a natural look.

Flood walls can be made of different materials depending on where they are. Where possible we would design a flood wall to blend in with the surrounding area.

All options that we are considering involve a combination of permanent flood walls and embankments.

The photo gives and example of what a flood wall can look like. Photo courtesy of the Environment Agency How can we reduce flooding in north Reading and Lower Caversham?

Options to reduce flooding in north Reading and Lower Caversham

An overview of the options we have been considering and would like your views on… We have been investigating options to reduce flooding from the River Thames in the Lower Caversham and north Reading area. All proposals shown here are in the early stages of design and may change as a result of feedback from this engagement and new information that arises as we develop a design.

We would like your views on which option you think we should take forward. We are running a consultation which we hope you are able to respond to. We will use the feedback in combination with technical information when deciding which option we can Option 1, Nire road to Christchurch playing develop. fields

All options include building flood walls and embankments. The difference between the options is in the length of the flood walls and embankments. Option 1 is the shortest, option 2 is an extension of option 1 and includes some temporary defences, option 3 is the same as option 2 with the addition of further embankment and walls to the south of the River Thames.. Option 4, not shown on a diagram here, is to do no new work, but continue with our existing work which includes maintaining rivers and streams and operating weirs and locks.

As we increase the length of the flood walls and embankments Option 2 – Nire Road to Promenade Road we increase the area that would benefit from reduced flood risk from the River Thames. However, we also find that the cost of building the scheme increases and we would need to secure extra funding to be able to deliver these.

As with all schemes it is essential that we do not increase flood risk to other communities as a result of our work. We are investigating ways in which we can ensure there would be no increase in flood risk to others, as a result of any of the options. If after further investigation we find it is not possible to reduce flood risk in these areas without increasing flood risk to other communities then we will not continue with these options, even Option 3 – Nire Road to Prominade road if the public consultation shows them to be a favoured option. including Waterman Place to . How can we reduce flooding in north Reading and Lower Caversham?

Options being considered to reduce flooding

Option 1 – Nire Road to Christchurch playing fields

This is the shortest length of flood walls and embankments. It begins at Ruskin Road near the Berry Brook and ends at Westfield Road Playgroud, off Gosbrook Road. You can see approximately where the wall and embankments could go on map 1 below. Please note that as we are in the early stages of the project the exact location of these flood walls and embankments is likely to change slightly from the alignment shown as we progress the detail of the design. Our initial investigations into Option 1 show that this option will reduce flood risk to homes, businesses roads and infrastructure currently at risk of flooding from the River Thames. It will reduce the risks for floods up to a similar size as was experienced in 1947. The 1947 flood was a major flood causing widespread flooding. Of the 3 options to build different lengths of flood wall and embankment, this option would require the least funding contributions compared to options 2 and 3. The blue areas of flooding on this map indicate the flood risk from the River Thames now without the embankment and flood walls. If we develop one of the options we will hope to reduce flooding from the River Thames to all areas behind the flood walls and embankments. We cannot remove flood risk entirely only reduce it. How can we reduce flooding in north Reading and Lower Caversham?

Options being considered to reduce flooding

Option 2 – Nire Road to Promenade Road

This is a slightly longer option than option 1. The first length of flood walls and embankments would be exactly the same as option 1 beginning at Ruskin Road near the Berry Brook until it reaches Christchurch playing fields, where it would then extend along the north edge of the playing fields. This option would require more funding contributions than option 1 as it is slightly longer, but would cost less than option 3. The blue areas of flooding on this map indicate the flood risk from the River Thames now without the embankment and flood walls. If we develop one of the options we will hope to reduce flooding from the River Thames to all areas behind the flood walls and embankments. We cannot remove flood risk entirely only reduce it. How can we reduce flooding in north Reading and Lower Caversham?

Options being considered to reduce flooding

Option 3 – Nire Road to Prominade road including Waterman Place to Reading Bridge.

This is the same as option 2 with the addition of further embankment and walls to the south of the River Thames. The flood embankment and walls to the south of the River Thames could begin near Caversham Bridge and end at Reading Bridge. This option would reduce flooding behind the flood embankments and walls to the north as with options 1 and 2. In addition it would reduce flooding to properties south of the River Thames behind the embankment and flood walls. This option would require more funding contributions than options 1 and 2 as it is the longest option. The blue areas of flooding on this map indicate the flood risk from the River Thames now without the embankment and flood walls. If we develop one of the options we will hope to reduce flooding from the River Thames to all areas behind the flood walls and embankments. We cannot remove flood risk entirely only reduce it. How can we reduce flooding in north Reading and Lower Caversham?

Options being considered to reduce flooding

Option 4 – Continue as we are now

The final option is not to build a scheme, to continue as we are now with existing maintenance work to rivers and streams and operation of weirs and locks in the area. This work reduces flood risk from smaller, more regular floods, but more significant flooding cannot be reduced by watercourse maintenance alone. The best scientific evidence suggests that severe weather events are likely to be more frequent and more intense in future, increasing the risk of flooding across the United Kingdom. How can we reduce flooding in north Reading and Lower Caversham?

What are the next steps?

What happens next

We will consider all of the following information and use it together to make a decision on which, if any of the options we will take forward.

• Landowners wishes, as shared through results of this consultation, feedback from individual meetings and feedback from the landowner drop-in held on the 26 June 2018. • Public views, as shown by the results of this consultation and feedback gathered at our public drop-ins. • Planning application requirements and recommendations. • Technical restrictions. When we develop the detail of the design we may discover physical restrictions that have not shown up during our initial investigations, these could include space available for construction, size of foundations required, archaeological findings, endangered species, to name a few. Any such findings could mean that we have to change the detail of the option or even consider a different, previously discounted option. • Cost of the proposal and funding available. The project would be partly funded by central government, but there is still a need to find more funding, for example from organisations and businesses that will benefit. • The time it will take to design, build and construct • Maintenance. We would need to agree who would be responsible for maintaining any new structures before putting a new structure in place. • Wildlife and landscape. If we develop an option then wildlife and landscape will be taken into consideration, and where possible we will look to improve landscape and habitat. We will always mitigate for any habitat and species that has been unavoidably impacted as a result of work we do to reduce flooding.

Nearby communities

We will not develop any option that would increase flood risk to properties outside the area we are working in. We work to reduce flooding, not to transfer it from one community to another. If at any stage in our work we find that our proposed work could result in increasing flood risk to a community near to or downstream of the scheme, then we would look for ways to change the design to remove this risk. If we cannot find a solution to reduce flooding without increasing risk to other communities then we will not continue with that option and will have to consider different options. It may be that none of the options we are now sharing become possible and we have to look at alternative solutions.

Partnership funding

If we decide to develop one of the options it would require partnership funding. This means that while some of the funding for the scheme can be raised through government grants, it is likely it would not be enough to cover the whole cost of a scheme. We would need to find further funding from local beneficiaries such as large businesses and organisations to help us cover the full cost of designing, building and maintaining a scheme. How can we reduce flooding in north Reading and Lower Caversham?

Steps we will follow if we decide to develop one of the options

Construction Complete begins subject surveys and Submit to approvals Investigations planning and funding application

Public drop-in Gain full Continue to business develop case options approval

To contact the project team, or to request to be added to the mailing list email [email protected] To respond to our online consultation go to https://consult.environment-agency.gov.uk/thames/reading-and-caversham-flood-reduction-options