River Eden Drainage Basin

• Where is the Eden River?

  Eden drainage basin, north-west England, drains north east lake district fells and north west pennines
• Where is the source of the Eden River?

  Pennine Hills in South Cumbria
• Where is the mouth of the River Eden?

  Solway Firth, Scottish Border
• Why is Carlisle vulnerable to flooding?

  Confluence of Eden, Petteril and Caldew Rivers, Carlisle is also low lying and relatively flat
• What is the rock type on the high ground?

  Igneous rock, which is impermeable
• What is the geology of much of the Eden basin?

  Sandstone and limestone, which is permeable
• How has farming affected the flood risk in the Eden basin?

  More intense farming has compacted soils, decreasing infiltration and increasing surface runoff

  Between 2000 and 2009, there had been a 30% increase in cattle in the Eden valley
• How has construction had an impact on flood risk?

  Many new housing estates around Carlisle, more impermeable surfaces increasing runoff and river levels. Eden Gate Development to north of the city and garden village plants to the south, 10 000 new homes
• What affect could climate change have on the west of the UK?

  Could experience 35% more rainfall by 2080
• What were the impacts of Storm Desmond?

  - 341.4 mm of rain in 24 hours

  - 5200 homes flooded

  - Major roads and rail services disrupted for several days

  - Landslide that closed a section of the West Coast Mainline

  - 61,000 homes lost power when an electrical substation was flooded