Future FRM>A new perspective: opening the flude-gates>SCAMPER>Eliminate

Eliminate

I was asked to consider reducing the problem into component parts by stripping it to its bare essentials.  By considering it in this way the problem needn’t seem so overwhelming beacuse you're breaking it down into digestible 'bite-size' chunks.    I started by thinking we always think of 'flood' as a big catastrophe but actually it needn’t be.  Yes - a flood may produce a lot of water but if that water is in the right place at the right time then it may actually not be 'too much'.  In fact a lot of flood water can be a very good thing - e.g. it can be used for fertilising land as Claire's presentation pointed out they do in Egypt.    So let’s think 'flude' not 'flood' to change our way of thinking of it.   And let’s have a look at how we can manage it and live with it.  Let’s think of it as a resource - for water supply (we're short of water!) or as a source of sediment (good if its on farming land, not so good if its in your back yard...................  It also looks good in the landscape and can benefit our wildlife.

This led me on to thinking about each component in turn by eliminating the others.   So could we make  it 'right place' rather then 'wrong place' by adapting the place - by appropriate design, floating homes, get a boat, accept that that’s where the water will be then its not necessarily 'wrong place'.   Similarly we can make it 'right time' not 'wrong time' by holding water back in the catchment and having better watershed management (e.g. better land use, good agricultural practices, forestry etc).    Once you eliminate these components then may be its not 'too much' as this kind of periodic inundation may be good for catchment - along the lines of  'more water' = good as we all need water to live.

All this needs a change of mindset by all of us - a change of mindset in the community at large.  Along the lines of ................."this isn't scary, its something that happens, its likely to be happening a bit more often due to the effects of global warming - I can handle this.  If I buy this house I can be confident it has been built to withstand a flood if it happens, (a risk assessment having been carried out by competent professionals) and that I will be provided with clear and transparent emergency and evacuation procedures if necessary. I'll also be reassured that my power and water supplies won't be cut off and I can still shop for food etc "........................" I may even have been involved in building my own resilience measures and I've had good guidance to help me do this".......................    If we're to achieve this change of mindset we need much more transparency on flood risk, bring it out of the closet.

So my main message was: -   Let's THINK – a resource to be used rather than a catastrophe to be avoided.