Integrated lowland catchment management: working with natural processes to meet the needs of multiple stakeholders

自然洪水管理（NFM）干预措施包括通过恢复或加强自然过程来减轻洪水的多种措施。过程包括减缓水流，储存水；河漫滩粗糙度增加，土壤入渗增加。除了减轻洪水外，它们还可能对水质产生重要影响。例如，增加土壤入渗可能会减少农药和养分径流，减缓河流流速可能会增加溪流藻类生长和养分加工，增加河漫滩粗糙度（有树木）可能会导致更多的河流遮阳（减少藻类生长和冷却河流），增加河漫滩连通性可能会增强沉积物的沉积。泰晤士水务公司对基于集水区的干预措施非常感兴趣，这些干预措施将主要利益相关者聚集在一起，以维持和寻求改善集水区的自然功能，包括流量衰减（确保供水；缓解低流量问题）和污染改善（降低处理成本和减轻环境影响）。他们正在通过流域试验推广这种方法，未来的投资取决于强有力的成本效益证据。鉴于这些措施在缓解洪水及其对水质的影响方面的有效性尚不清楚，因此迫切需要进行这项研究。

Natural Flood Management (NFM) interventions include a multitude of measures that mitigate flooding by restoring or enhancing natural processes. Processes include slowing flows, storing water; increasing floodplain roughness and increasing soil infiltration. In addition to mitigating flooding they are likely to have important impacts on water quality. For example, increasing soil infiltration may reduce pesticide and nutrient runoff, slowing river flows may increase instream algal growth and nutrient processing, increasing floodplain roughness (with trees) may result in more river shading (reducing algal growth and cooling rivers), and increasing floodplain connectivity may enhance the deposition of sediments. Thames Water have a strong interest in catchment based interventions which bring together key stakeholders to maintain and seek to improve natural catchment functions of flow attenuation (securing water supply; mitigating low flow issues) and pollution amelioration (reducing treatment costs and mitigating environmental impacts). They are promoting this approach through catchment trials and future investment is dependent on robust cost-benefit evidence. Given that the effectiveness of such measures on both mitigating floods and their impacts on water quality are poorly understood there is an urgent need for this research.