Flooding in Somerset

A Guided Tourwith Jaffy Duck

PCP 9

Hi, I’m Jaffy Duck and I’m your tour guide around

the area of Somerset we call ‘The Parrett

Catchment’.

It is called the Parrett Catchment because the

river Parrett and it’s tributaries flow through

it.

..so let’s take a tour around the catchment to see how floods have

affected Somerset

in the past!

Our tour starts at Burrowbridge,

which is highlighted on

the map above.

Burrowbridge

This photo was taken from Burrowbridge village. The road you can see is the A361 and is the main road through the village.

The winter floods back in 2000 caused the road to close. This left the people in the village completely cut off from Taunton and the motorway.

People were unable to get to hospital, work, school or the supermarket.

This photo was taken from an aeroplane above Burrowbridge during the winter floods of 2000.

As you can see, lots of farmland is completely covered in water. This water destroyed crops and forced animals to move to higher land for their food and survival.

Here I am on Burrow Mump, and the year is 1986.

All of Southlake Moor in front of me is flooded and the freezing cold weather has iced over the water.

…so I’m off to join those people down there for a skate on the ice!

The next destination on

our tour is North Curry and Knapp, as shown on the

map above.

North Curry & Knapp

The heavy rains in 2000 caused the river to overflow and not only flood fields but

buildings too – like this farm barn in Knapp.

The damage to farming equipment and property

was expensive and cost the owners and their insurance companies lots of money to

replace and mend everything.

This was the view from North Curry Church

during the floods in 2000.

It looks like the church is by the sea doesn’t it?

…but remember where North Curry is on the

map..you should really be looking at green fields in the distance, not water!

The next image I’m going to

show you was taken in

Moorland, which is here on the

map.

Moorland

No, this is not a canal boat… it is a house and somebody’s home!

The water is so high that it is also inside the house. All the carpets,

furniture and electrical sockets are covered by dirty water from the

river.

Imagine if this house was your home…

What could you do to ensure that your home is safe from flood?

We’ve looked at how floods affect

the villages on the levels…but

floods also happen in large towns too. So

our next stop on the tour is Taunton.

Taunton

That building behind me is a large supermarket right in the centre of Taunton. Thousands of people use this supermarket every week for

essential food and supplies.

The river is so full and high that it is dangerously close to flooding the

supermarket.

You may recognise this view…it is the bridge in the centre of Taunton.

Look at how high the water level is!… any more heavy rain will make this river burst it’s

banks…

…then I will be able to swim inside all those shops and offices behind me.

And look at all those people on the bridge!…

…if this river does overflow, there will be a lot of people trying to swim with me!

…so all this water runs off the land into

the river

How floods happen…

Now we’ve seen what floods can

do,let’s have a look at the different

things that cause floods to happen…

Buildings and roads stop water soaking

into the ground

…and the river can’t cope and

it bursts its banks.

Hard soils stop water soaking into the ground

Few trees to soak up rainfall

Lots and lots of rain

How to stop the floods happening

• Build ponds near houses and roads to store water

• Build large ponds on farms to store water

• Build high banks by the river

• Plant more trees

• Educate and raise awareness of flooding

River Festival

• Work with farmers to help the soil soak up more water

Here are some pictures by

children from Somerset, about what they think about flooding

What do you think about flooding?

What can you do about flooding?

If your school wasn’t there the ground would be able to soak

up the water.

Instead, rain falls on it’s roof, straight into the gutter and

down the drains…

WHAT A WASTE!

It would be far better to collect the water to stop it from

flowing quickly from the drains into our rivers.

As we have learnt, if the river fills up too quickly, it could

burst it’s banks and cause a flood.

What can you do about flooding?

To collect rain water, your school could install a water

butt, like the one in the picture.

Water butts are large barrels with a tap at the bottom so

that the rain water they have collected can be used for other things like watering the garden

or washing windows or cars.

The water butt can be connected to drain pipes so

they can store the water that runs of a roof when it rains.

A Water Butt

What can you do about flooding?

This is my personal favourite!…

…your school could create a mini-wetland or pond.

If your school has an area where water collects and

the ground gets very muddy and covered in

puddles – this could be a perfect

mini-wetland area.

Ponds and wetlands are great areas to study as they attract all kinds of

wildlife from special plants to insects, worms, frogs,

newts and birds…

…even ducks like me!

What can you do about flooding?

Ponds and wetlands are also very versatile. The plants that live in them help break down any

pollutants that are in the water.

This ability to clean polluted water is very

useful if your school’s pond is near a river or stream.

To make your school pond or mini-wetland even better at helping stop floods, you

could feed it with water from your school’s water

butt.

What can you do about flooding?

Your school could also plant trees as a way to help

stop flooding.

Each tree planted acts as a mini sponge. It also

provides a home to lots of different wildlife such as

birds and insects…

BUT DON’T FORGET!…

YOU CAN DO ALL THIS AT HOME

AS WELL AS AT SCHOOL!

Well that is the end of my guided tour…

Thank you for joining me…

I hope to see you at a pond near

your school soon!