Improving the resilience of hard urban systems via improved flood risk modelling

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A consortium of flood risk modelling company Ambiental and the geoscience research organisation British Geological Survey are embarking on a project that seeks to prove a new computer modelling technique which better represents the role of groundwater (water flowing underground) during flood events. Flooding can occur when the groundwater table exceeds the ground surface, but a high water table can also exacerbate flooding from heavy rainfall. Flooding can also occur in urban areas behind flood defences where groundwater is forced through the rock by high river levels. Successful completion of this project will pave the way to a new flood modelling framework which will allow us to clarify the level of risk properties are facing from this phenomena (which occurred throughout much of the south-west and Thames valley flooding of winter 2013-14). There are a multitude of benefits, including new insight when planning flood defences, better preparedness when preparing for impending floods and improved knowledge about the actual level of risk in ‘high-susceptibility’ areas.