Runoff management during the September 2008 floods in the Belford catchment, Northumberland

On 5-6th September 2008, prolonged rainfall in the north east of England resulted in flooding in many towns. Belford lies within this region and has a history of flooding, but on this occasion, flooding was minimal. Numerous houses and businesses are at a risk of flooding but traditional flood defence measures are not considered to be cost effective. In the year before the storm, a series of runoff attenuation features had been developed in the Belford catchment (~6km2) as part of Farm Integrated Runoff Management plans. Water-level data from the stream and pilot feature indicated the effectiveness of the feature in storing and slowing runoff during the September 2008 storm. These data indicated that the pilot feature held runoff for approximately 8h. The effect that this had on the travel time of the peak was significant: it increased from 20 to 35min. © The Authors. Journal of Flood Risk Management © 2010 The Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management.