What is the Thames Valley Flood Scheme?

This page covers:

  • What the Thames Valley Flood Scheme is
  • Flood storage
  • Natural flood management
  • Funding
  • What other approaches did we consider?

In 2021 we held our first public consultation. You can view the information we shared, and our reports following the consultation here.



What is the Thames Valley Flood Scheme?

To find out about the scheme you can watch our new video, explaining the need for the scheme, what the scheme includes and our project ambitions.

The Thames Valley Flood Scheme is investigating ways to manage flood risk on a large scale across the Thames Valley catchment. This is a large area as shown on the map below.


We have found that creating new flood storage sites, supported by natural flood management, could work at a large scale to reduce flood risk. We have identified 17 locations that might be suitable to store flood water on some of the tributaries (rivers that feed into) of the river Thames. During the next phase of work, we will be refining the precise extent of these locations.


What would a flood storage area look like?These paintings show an artist’s impression of a flood storage area. They show a generic location, rather than a specific place. In the painting above you can see what the area might look like for most of the year. The image below shows what the flood storage area would look like when flooding is expected, with water being temporarily stored there. By storing water we can reduce the amount of flooding and associated damage, financial costs and long term mental health impacts.

These locations would be centered around areas of existing floodplain. We would look to hold water back by temporarily increasing the depth, duration, extent, or frequency of flooding in these places.

Where might flood storage be located?

We have been narrowing down potential locations where it is possible to store floodwater. You can find out about the process we have followed by watching our video or reading our newsletter. You can find further detail in our report.

We began by looking at over 700 locations across the Thames area. We have now identified 17 locations that might be suitable for storing floodwater to reduce flooding to communities.

These locations are all centred around areas of existing floodplain. We would look to temporarily increase the depth, duration, extent or frequency of flooding in these areas, holding water back to reduce flooding downstream.

During the next phase of work, we will be refining the precise extent of these locations. It is likely that, as we find out more about each site, we will reduce the number of locations that we are investigating. As with any large project, it will go through a series of approvals and will need further funding from government and partners at each stage.

Natural flood management

Our project team has been working to consider different approaches to incorporate natural flood management into the Thames Valley Flood Scheme.

The scheme is looking to reduce flood risk on a large scale. While the evidence to date shows that natural flood management works well to manage flood risk locally, the size of this project means that large scale flood storage is needed to meet the project aims. Therefore, we are assessing how natural flood management can be used in combination with flood storage as part of the scheme.

There are numerous benefits of natural flood management. It can bring local flood risk benefits, improve water quality, and reduce the impacts of drought as well as improving the natural habitat.

The Environment Agency and partner organisations have delivered many natural flood management projects across the Thames Valley, with others still in progress.

Working with partners, we have been mapping existing and planned natural flood management projects. This could help us identify an appropriate natural flood management approach to complement existing measures, or where possible, join them up.


Funding

Flood and coastal erosion risk management (FCERM) in the UK is funded from several different sources. The Government provides most of its funding for FCERM to the Environment Agency and other Risk Management Authorities as Grant-in-Aid (GiA). For many projects, including the Thames Valley Flood Scheme, where GiA funding does not cover all costs, the balance must be secured from private and public sector partners and the local communities and businesses that will benefit from the scheme. This is known as partnership funding, which is supported by the national FCERM Strategy as a means of delivering local priorities and providing communities and businesses with a say in what is done to reduce flood risk in their area.

The amount of funding a project can attract from different sources will depend on the benefits it provides. The Thames Valley Flood Scheme project team is gathering information that will help us develop a plan to pay for the scheme. The team is seeking opportunities for partnership funding from both the public and private sectors.


What options did we consider?

We assessed 20 different approaches to see if they could work on their own to reduce flood risk across the Thames Valley. We identified that flood storage, circled in blue, will be a key part of the scheme. Natural flood management options, circled in green, could complement flood storage. These have potential to provide long-term benefits and meet the overall aims of the scheme, managing flood risk at a catchment scale. The other approaches shown on the diagram could still be used as part of the scheme, working alongside flood storage. To find out more please read our assessment of approaches report and our follow up report on natural flood management.




This page covers:

  • What the Thames Valley Flood Scheme is
  • Flood storage
  • Natural flood management
  • Funding
  • What other approaches did we consider?

In 2021 we held our first public consultation. You can view the information we shared, and our reports following the consultation here.



What is the Thames Valley Flood Scheme?

To find out about the scheme you can watch our new video, explaining the need for the scheme, what the scheme includes and our project ambitions.

The Thames Valley Flood Scheme is investigating ways to manage flood risk on a large scale across the Thames Valley catchment. This is a large area as shown on the map below.


We have found that creating new flood storage sites, supported by natural flood management, could work at a large scale to reduce flood risk. We have identified 17 locations that might be suitable to store flood water on some of the tributaries (rivers that feed into) of the river Thames. During the next phase of work, we will be refining the precise extent of these locations.


What would a flood storage area look like?These paintings show an artist’s impression of a flood storage area. They show a generic location, rather than a specific place. In the painting above you can see what the area might look like for most of the year. The image below shows what the flood storage area would look like when flooding is expected, with water being temporarily stored there. By storing water we can reduce the amount of flooding and associated damage, financial costs and long term mental health impacts.

These locations would be centered around areas of existing floodplain. We would look to hold water back by temporarily increasing the depth, duration, extent, or frequency of flooding in these places.

Where might flood storage be located?

We have been narrowing down potential locations where it is possible to store floodwater. You can find out about the process we have followed by watching our video or reading our newsletter. You can find further detail in our report.

We began by looking at over 700 locations across the Thames area. We have now identified 17 locations that might be suitable for storing floodwater to reduce flooding to communities.

These locations are all centred around areas of existing floodplain. We would look to temporarily increase the depth, duration, extent or frequency of flooding in these areas, holding water back to reduce flooding downstream.

During the next phase of work, we will be refining the precise extent of these locations. It is likely that, as we find out more about each site, we will reduce the number of locations that we are investigating. As with any large project, it will go through a series of approvals and will need further funding from government and partners at each stage.

Natural flood management

Our project team has been working to consider different approaches to incorporate natural flood management into the Thames Valley Flood Scheme.

The scheme is looking to reduce flood risk on a large scale. While the evidence to date shows that natural flood management works well to manage flood risk locally, the size of this project means that large scale flood storage is needed to meet the project aims. Therefore, we are assessing how natural flood management can be used in combination with flood storage as part of the scheme.

There are numerous benefits of natural flood management. It can bring local flood risk benefits, improve water quality, and reduce the impacts of drought as well as improving the natural habitat.

The Environment Agency and partner organisations have delivered many natural flood management projects across the Thames Valley, with others still in progress.

Working with partners, we have been mapping existing and planned natural flood management projects. This could help us identify an appropriate natural flood management approach to complement existing measures, or where possible, join them up.


Funding

Flood and coastal erosion risk management (FCERM) in the UK is funded from several different sources. The Government provides most of its funding for FCERM to the Environment Agency and other Risk Management Authorities as Grant-in-Aid (GiA). For many projects, including the Thames Valley Flood Scheme, where GiA funding does not cover all costs, the balance must be secured from private and public sector partners and the local communities and businesses that will benefit from the scheme. This is known as partnership funding, which is supported by the national FCERM Strategy as a means of delivering local priorities and providing communities and businesses with a say in what is done to reduce flood risk in their area.

The amount of funding a project can attract from different sources will depend on the benefits it provides. The Thames Valley Flood Scheme project team is gathering information that will help us develop a plan to pay for the scheme. The team is seeking opportunities for partnership funding from both the public and private sectors.


What options did we consider?

We assessed 20 different approaches to see if they could work on their own to reduce flood risk across the Thames Valley. We identified that flood storage, circled in blue, will be a key part of the scheme. Natural flood management options, circled in green, could complement flood storage. These have potential to provide long-term benefits and meet the overall aims of the scheme, managing flood risk at a catchment scale. The other approaches shown on the diagram could still be used as part of the scheme, working alongside flood storage. To find out more please read our assessment of approaches report and our follow up report on natural flood management.




Page last updated: 07 Mar 2024, 12:59 PM