Case Study: Somerset Levels 2014
Where and what is it?
The Somerset Levels is a vast flat agricultural area in south-west England lying between the Quantock and Mendip Hills, south of Bristol.
In January 2014, an area equivalent to 64 km became inundated by flood water.
Villages were cut off and many people and farm animals had to be rescued. The floods lasted for several weeks causing immense disruption to people's lives and considerable environmental damage.
What were the causes?
Physical causes
Human causes
This was the wettest winter period since 1910, with twelve major storms between December 2013 and February 2014, driven across the Atlantic Ocean by powerful high level winds called the jet stream.
Strong tidal surges swept seawater into the river systems and prevented water from the land escaping to the sea. This led to flooding of the River Tone and River Parrett.
Tidal surges deposited huge amounts of silt in the river channels, reducing their capacity to hold water.
The land is extremely flat and low-lying, making it particularly vulnerable to flooding.
The River Parrett had not been dredges for 20 years and its channel had become silted, so reducing its capacity to cope with floodwater.
Building on the floodplain with roads and houses increased runoff into rivers.
Drainage ditches used to drain the land for farming increased the speed of water flow into rivers.
What were the effects?
Social
Economic
Environmental
600 homes were damaged
Some villages were cut off for several weeks.
Several roads were impassable, increasing journey times and leading to considerable inconvenience.
The cost to the Somerset economy was estimated to be between £82 million and £147 million
Farm animals had to be moved out of the area, fed expensive grain and sold.
Businesses in the area lost money due to extra transport costs and lack of visitors
Some 7000 hectares of productive agricultural land were underwater for several weeks.
Some water became deoxygenated, affecting aquatic wildlife and leaving a black scum on the fields.
Floodwater contained raw sewage, dead animals and toxic waste.
What were the responses?
Short-term responses
Long-term responses
The Environment Agency installed pumps sourced from as far away as the Netherlands to pump water back into the rivers.
Emergency services, the Royal Marines and other volunteer organisations supported local people.
As the floods receded, dredging of rivers began
Introduced in 2014, the Somerset Levels and Moors Flood Action Plan is a 20 year plan with a budget of £100 million to alleviate flooding. So far, it has involved dredging silt from the River Tone and River Parrett and constructing an embankment to protect the village of Thorney.
A £32 million flood barrage at Bridgwater is being considered