Solutions to tackle climate change and flooding

Update in relation to flooding article from Craig Muncey in 2020:

“24th November 2024, Storm Bert brought with it a huge amount of rainfall which ultimately caused flooding in South Wales again, including my village, Nantgarw.

This time fortunately, my property was not impacted, however, residents in Oxford Street yet again had flood water enter their properties uninvited.

It seemed again, the levels of protection expected were not there. Flood warnings did occur this time in the majority of cases, but in terms of sandbags to help curtail the water in Nantgarw these only occurred when properties were already breached by water. You had a situation where a truck trying to deliver sandbags to properties in need got stuck in flood water on the main road to Nantgarw. This emphasises how late the reaction was.

It was not as if there was no awareness that it was highly likely vulnerable properties were not in danger of flooding. It had been talked about for days with the Met Office giving the storm a name. And what rightly rankles the residents is that 100 metres or so on the same road there is a government building which had flood gates, sandbags all around it, so clear evidence flooding was expected in the area. While poor residents on the road, had to make do with what they have.

My heart just goes out to all people in South Wales. I know how I feel when the flood alert hits my phone and for those more impacted I can only imagine the feeling in their stomachs when the call comes in.”

Rain to increase as climate warms up

Also in Pontypridd, residents quoted that lessons were not learned from Storm Dennis, which left much of the town under water in 2020. Unfortunately, in November 2024 Storm Bert, led to further devastating floods.

Dr Leanne Archer, research associate at the University of Bristol recently quoted to BBC news:

“We expect that the intensity of rain will increase as the climate continues to warm.”

She continued: “So it will not only happen more frequently but when it does happen, the rain will be harder and that means that the water has to find somewhere to go much more quickly.

A solution for flood risk areas

Wastewater could be taken from flood risk areas by private companies or water boards by siphoning it off and moving it through pipes to HTC sites.

By siphoning off wastewater, drains will be empty leaving room for heavy rainfall in flood risk areas. In addition, this will prevent sewage being dumped into rivers which is harmful to the environment. This method can be a profitable business by turning the wastewater to sludge and selling to sectors including chemical manufacturing and agriculture.

In addition to using HTC sites, industrial sized water tanks can take up to 630,000 litres of rainwater freeing up drains if rivers burst banks. And for residential areas smaller water barrels could be used with interconnecting pipes. When heavy rain subsides, the water can be released preventing flooding to homes and businesses.

Wastewater treatment stats in England 2020

In 2020, Wastewater treatment in England produced 807,882 tonnes of sludge.

Only 0.06% of the wastewater in England was reused.

94% of sludge was reused for soil and agriculture, 3% was incinerated and 3% was reused for other uses including:

Composting
Forestry
Industrial Crops
Cement manufacture and retail
Land reclamation and restoration

The sludge could also be used to produce charcoal for purposes including:

Steam engines
Smokeless coal for wood burners
Briquettes compatible with all stoves
Charcoal can also be used to produce carbon sponges for aquariums, leaving the water clear. This could also be useful if made on a larger scale to treat blue-green algae also known as cyanobacteria. This bacteria is found in lakes, ponds and streams and is harmful to animals.
Restaurant charcoal
BBQ charcoal
Health/Beauty industry – Facemask charcoal products
Organic peat moss

And the benefit of using Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) to produce sludge goes even further. You can also produce energy so residents could benefit from cheaper energy bills.

Astonishingly, we recently read an article with a member of government quoting there is nothing we can do to prevent risks to homes and businesses from future flooding. This is not the case if HTC sites and industrial sized barrels were put in place.

We need solutions to tackle climate change, and we need them put in place sooner rather than later.