GCSE geography

1. Soft engineering: River Quaggy restoration scheme
Location: The River Quaggy is an urban
river, 17 km in length, passing through
the south-east London boroughs of
Bromley, Greenwich and Lewisham. It
rises from two sources near Farnborough
Hospital at Locksbottom and is a
tributary of the River Ravensbourne
which it flows into near Lewisham
station in Lewisham.
Causes of management: Since the 1960s the river has been heavily managed and
artificial channels and culverts were built to divert it beneath the ground as it
passed through Greenwich. As a result of increased flood risk due to continued
urban development in Lewisham, more was needed to protect the area from
flooding. The Environment Agency had to make a decision about if the river
should be channelised to make it more efficient or choose a soft engineering
approach in order to protect the river.
Why soft engineering?
This method of management was proposed by the local residents who formed the
Quaggy Waterways Action Group to campaign for a sustainable approach which
would improve the local environment. It was thought that a soft engineering
approach was both environmentally friendly and cheaper to use than hard
engineering. The local habitats of many animals in the area, such as Water voles
and Stag beetles, would also be left unaffected by the restoration scheme.
Schemes employed to prevent flooding:
 The plan was to bring the river back above the ground once again, cutting a
new channel for it through Sutcliffe Park, and creating a multifunctional
open space. In this way flood management and the quality of the park would
be improved. Although a culvert remained to take some water underground
during flood conditions, a new lake was created to take over when this
became full.
 The park itself was lowered and shaped to create a floodplain where water
could collect naturally instead of rushing downstream through artificial
channels to flood Lewisham town centre. The park’s flood storage capacity

2. of 85,000m3 of water, equivalent to 35 olympic swimming pools, has
reduced the risk of flooding for 600 homes and businesses in Greenwich and
Lewisham, and has created a diverse environment for wildlife.
By redirecting the river to a more natural course and including a flood storage
area, the scheme has created a wetland environment with reedbeds, wild flower
meadows and tree. The scheme won the Natural Environment category in the
2007 Waterways Renaissance Awards and the Living Wetlands Award, run
jointly by the RSPB and the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental
Management.
This is a photograph of the
River Quaggy going
through Sutcliffe Park. Now
the Quaggy flows through
the park in a reconstruction
of the original route. In
storm conditions, the water
enters the old trough but
then discharges into the
park to form a temporary
lake. The restored Quaggy
has been planted with
waterside plants and a small permanent lake has been formed, so the park
provides a wildlife reserve and a fun place to play. The Quaggy is being
closely monitored to see how it changes its course and how the wildlife
develops. What is learnt here will be used in other flood-control schemes.
The reeds that have been planted
in order to support the bank and to
lessen he effects of erosion. These
reeds also are the new homes of
some new aquatic animals.
The reconstruction of the wetland
environment has brought some
new animals to the area including
Kingfishers.