soft engineering

• Outline what soft engineering is in terms of flood management.

  Soft engineering involves managing natural river processes to reduce the flooding risk.
• Describe how flood warnings and preparation work.

  Flood alert information is issued by agencies such as the Environment Agency so people can plan and prepare for flooding.
• Describe the advantages of flood warnings and preparation.

  Warnings are cheap and give people time to evacuate and protect their homes and possessions. This can also give property owners time to reinforce their buildings to make them more flood-resistant.
• Describe the disadvantages of flood warnings and preparation.

  Warnings do not stop flooding and are only effective if people are aware of the warnings and take action.
• Describe how flood plain zoning works.

  Flood plain zoning restricts building on flood plains and areas at risk from flooding.
• Describe the advantages of flood plain zoning.

  With no impermeable surfaces such as concrete or tarmac, the risk of flooding in flood plains is reduced. Also, there are no buildings that could be damaged should a flood occur.
• Describe the disadvantages of flood plain zoning.

  Flood plain zoning restricts industrial and urban development, which can increase housing shortages. It has no effect on existing high-risk urbanised areas.
• Describe how planting trees works.

  Trees are planted in river valleys to increase the interception and absorption of rainwater, which reduces surface run-off.
• Describe the advantages of planting trees.

  Planting trees is a low cost, environmentally friendly way to reduce surface run-off. It also increases natural wildlife habitats and reduces soil erosion.
• Describe the disadvantages of planting trees.

  Tree planting requires a lot of space and reduces the amount of land available for farming.
• Describe how river restoration works.

  River restoration involves removing hard engineering strategies to allow rivers to return to their natural state.
• Describe the advantages of river restoration.

  River restoration increases water storage, reducing the risk of flooding downstream. It also makes the river more aesthetically pleasing and increases biodiversity.
• Describe the disadvantages of river restoration.

  River restoration can lead to a loss in agricultural land and cause major flooding if done near high-value, built-up areas.