Hills to Levels

 

About

What we have achieved

Overview of natural flood management measures

Information sheets

Videos

 

About

Hills to Levels is a holistic catchment based and county wide project across Somerset. We provide land management advice and support to install Natural Flood Management measures (NFM) aiming to restore / create opportunities to attenuate and slow peak flows in watercourses and overland flows. The project has been active since 2014 with multiple aims including reducing flood risks, providing land management and soil husbandry advice to reduce field and watercourse erosion, improving water quality within watercourses, increasing resilience on floodplains and delivering wider environmental benefits. 

Hills to Levels responds to referrals from communities, landowners, highway authorities and other organisations to provide land management advice and the design and installation of NFM measures.  

The project evolved following the 2013-2014 Somerset floods which affected land use across the Somerset Levels, urban areas and the local communities. 

The Somerset Rivers Authority (SRA) was formed with 5 main workstreams supporting the Somerset 20-year Flood Action Plan and our Hills to Levels project falls under Workstream 2 – Land Management and NFM. 

The project works across the county, installing interventions that then have a catchment scale impact:

 

• Sustainable land management and soil husbandry advice. 
• In channel features such as live laying trees, leaky dams, timber flow spreaders. 
• Water attenuation features such as sediment ponds, wetlands, scrapes, bunds, silt traps, and floodplain reconnection. 
• In-field flow path disrupters and measures to capture silt such as filter fencing and coir rolls
• Woodland, agro-forestry, tree planting, shelterbelts and hedge planting. 
• Farm infrastructure such as cambering tracks and installing cross drains. 
• Community and landowner NFM action plans.

 

• ‘Every field, every farm, every stream has its part to play in flooding and water quality’. 
  

• What we’ve achieved 

  Hills to Levels is recognised for the pioneering flood prevention work that we have undertaken across Somerset and was awarded the prestigious UK Rivers Prize in 2018 in the category ‘Catchment-scale project – Demonstrating a whole river approach to restoration’.  

  Further information can be found here. 

  Hills to Levels has gained political interest, with the project being discussed within the Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan which came out at the start of 2018. 

  Additionally, Hills to Levels won the first Duncan Huggett Award for the Environment in March 2018.  

  Further information can be found here. 

  

   

   

  

  *Above Image created using AI

   

  Overview of Natural Flood Management Measures

  

  NFM Information sheets 

  16 information sheets have been created covering a range of Natural Flood Management techniques and flood reduction measures to inform and advise landowners, managers and contractors.  

   Please note: 

  • Information Sheets are produced for guidance only and no liability or responsibility for any loss or damage can be accepted by FWAG SW or Hills to Levels.  Further site-specific details and advice may be required for individual projects. 
  • Measures, if not designed, constructed or maintained appropriately may cause risks to wildlife, properties, infrastructure. 
  • The landowner takes ownership of the resulting capital works and has full responsibility for maintenance and liability. 
  • The list of measures is not exhaustive, please speak to your FWAG SW adviser to explore further ideas and opportunities. 

   

  Work sheet No	Improve infiltration into soils
  1	Soil Husbandry Advice
  2	Cross-Slope Hedges
  3	Hedge Management
  4	Woodland Planting
  5	Woody Flow Spreaders
  Attenuate, slow and filter run-off
  6	In-field Bunds
  7	Cross Drains
  8	Filter Barriers
  9	Silt Traps
  10	Field gateway onto Highways
  Temporarily store run-off in-field
  11	Leaky Run-off Ponds
  11b	Leaky Outlets
  Slow the flow in ditch channels
  12	In-ditch Features
  Slow the flow in streams or rivers, create habitat and stabilise banks
  13	Leaky Woody Dams
  14	In-stream Habitat Improvement & Bank Stabilisation
  Reconnecting watercourses to their floodplain
  15	Connecting Floodplains
  16	Stage Zero Floodplain Restoration

  NFM Videos

  We have created 14 videos to showcase various aspects of the project. These are all on our  Youtube channel, but you can also view them all below. 

  Hills to Levels multiple benefits project

  1: Filter Soxx

  2: Woody Dams

  3: Woodland Planting

  4: Leaky Pond

  5: Riverbank Stabilisation

  6: Floodplain Storage

  7: Reconnecting floodplains

  8: Leaky pond cascade

  9: A view from above

  10: Introduction to soil compaction and infiltration

  11: Soil compaction and infiltration in grassland

  12: Soil compaction and infiltration on arable ground

  13: UK Rivers Prize 2018

  14: Do man made leaky woody dams work?

   

  Please note: 

  • Information Sheets are produced for guidance only and no liability or responsibility for any loss or damage can be accepted by FWAG SW or Hills to Levels.  Further site-specific details and advice may be required for individual projects. 
  • Measures, if not designed, constructed or maintained appropriately may cause risks to wildlife, properties, infrastructure. 
  • The landowner takes ownership of the resulting capital works and has full responsibility for maintenance and liability. 
  • The list of measures is not exhaustive, please speak to your FWAG SW adviser to explore further ideas and opportunities. 

   

• The continued work of Hills to Levels wouldn’t be possible without the financial help and support of the Somerset Rivers Authority.
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