24th July 2007, 02:57 PM
One answer to the problem is to change the way we manage the landscape - block upland blanket bog drainage, plant tree belts along rivers, create washlands that will flood short term to slow the pulses of flood waters down the rivers and insits that all new builds have rainwater catch systems for flushing toilets etc so that water is caught and used rather than adding to the load in the sewerage system and water butts - if every house in the catchments of the floods caught fifty gallons of water then released it after the main flood pulse had passed it would have some effect even if it didn't prevent flooding of every property.