Reducing surface flooding in Norwich
Norfolk County Council is currently working on reducing the incidence of surface flooding during heavy rainfall events in the city of Norwich. The project aims to install a range of water retention and release systems, designed to capture the water before it hits the surface water drainage system and slowly release it once the rain event has subsided. The project is co-funded by Anglian Water and partners include Norwich City Council, Broadland District Council and the Environment Agency. Environment Agency.This pilot project is targeting a number of water sensitive areas in Norwich. The goal is installing small localised Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS), for example slow release water butts and rain water planters, across a range of households and businesses and potentially larger systems at schools.
The project aims to reduce incidence of surface flooding and potential property damage by reducing the amount of water flowing into the surface drains upstream of the flood-risk areas.
This CATCH-project was presented to students of the University of the East Anglia as part of their third-year environmental degree program. The project was well received and three students engaged with the project team to work on surface water management and community-led behavioral change.
Moreover, the Norwich CATCH pilot project is making excellent progress towards ‘Raising Awareness’. The distribution of 30,000 CATCH flyers across the pilot area of Norwich has generated hundreds of ‘Expressions of Interest’ on the CATCH website. So far, almost 1400 Norwich residents applied for the installation of a water butt or rainwater planter at home. The installation of the sustainable urban drainage systems has already started.
If you wish to know more about the Norwich Pilot Project please contact us.