Working Washlands

admin
, 04 December 2017
Working Washlands

By Fran Southgate

Living Landscapes Advisor

We’ve mentioned Natural Flood Management before – but what does that look like on the ground?There are all sorts of things we can do to slow and store water in our landscapes – planting trees and hedgerows, digging ponds, putting natural wood back in streams and more. We can also restore natural washlands – but what are they?

Washlands are areas of land where water can spread out, slow down and be stored temporarily, whilst it’s flooding. Some of the biggest potential for storing excess flood water when it’s raining hard is in our smaller stream floodplains. These are often where the land use is less intensive, and where there is space for water to come and go periodically without adversely affecting people and farming.

Water tends to have a mind of its own, but on the whole it follows the line of least resistance. If we can create those lines of least resistance in the right places, then suddenly water is flowing into all the areas we want it to, rather than into our houses. At the same time, we can provide climate regulation, water purification, pollination, wildlife habitat, better green spaces for people and much more.

This week we spent a couple of days with an obliging landowner and a digger, restoring the relict course of an old chalk stream. Diverted decades ago to feed a local mill, the old stream bed only really gets wet now when it floods. The local landowner saw the potential to make the stream a more active flood relief channel, and we went to work.

It’s fantastic watching it take shape. All we needed to do was to make it easier for the flood water to find the old stream channel, and the water and natural gravity will do the rest. We’re only half way through the project, and already we have created around 100 tonnes of extra flood water storage, as well as a fantastic area of habitat for wetland wildlife.

.. now we just need some rain to check that it works !!

Leave a comment
Time Δ Debug Message - Perch Runway 3.2
1788348399.62730 [907] SELECT p.pagePath, pr.routePattern, pr.routeRegExp, p.pageTemplate, pr.routeOrder, s.settingValue AS siteOffline FROM swt_pages_staging p LEFT JOIN swt_page_routes pr ON p.pageID=pr.pageID LEFT JOIN swt_settings s ON s.settingID='siteOffline' UNION SELECT NULL AS pagePath, pr2.routePattern, pr2.routeRegExp, pr2.templatePath AS pageTemplate, pr2.routeOrder, NULL AS siteOffline FROM swt_page_routes pr2 WHERE templateID!=0 ORDER BY routeOrder ASC, pagePath ASC
1788348399.70280.0755Matched route: news/[slug:s]
1788348399.70290.0002Server address: 216.73.216.54
1788348399.7030Using master page: /templates/pages/blog/post.php
1788348399.7030Page arguments: 
Array
(
    [0] => /news/working-washlands
    [s] => working-washlands
    [1] => working-washlands
)
1788348399.70320.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1788348399.70430.0011 [86] SELECT DISTINCT settingID, settingValue FROM swt_settings WHERE userID=0
1788348399.70670.0024 [1] SELECT locationID FROM swt_shop_tax_locations WHERE locationIsHome=1 LIMIT 1
1788348399.70740.0007INSERT INTO swt_shop_cart(memberID,locationID,currencyID,cartPricing,cartProperties) VALUES(NULL,'1',47,'standard','[]')
1788348399.77070.0633 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=24719818
1788348399.77170.001 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_cart WHERE cartID=24719818
1788348399.77260.0008 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_shop_sales WHERE saleFrom<='2026-09-02 11:26:00' AND saleTo>'2026-09-02 11:26:00' AND saleActive=1 AND saleDeleted IS NULL ORDER BY saleOrder ASC
1788348399.78270.0101 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='working-washlands')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-09-02 11:26:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 10
1788348399.78620.0035 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1788348399.7870.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postID=1464 AND postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-09-02 11:26:00'
1788348399.78820.0012 [13] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_sections ORDER BY sectionTitle ASC
1788348399.78910.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blogs ORDER BY blogTitle ASC
1788348399.790.0009 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=65 LIMIT 1
1788348399.79070.0007 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=54 LIMIT 1
1788348399.79130.0006 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_categories WHERE catID=66 LIMIT 1
1788348399.7920.0007Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1788348399.79220.0002 [162] SELECT catID, catPath FROM swt_categories
1788348399.79350.0013 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_posts WHERE postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-09-02 11:26:00' AND postSlug='working-washlands'
1788348399.82290.0294Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1788348399.82340.0005 [250] SELECT country, countryID FROM swt_shop_countries WHERE countryActive=1 ORDER BY country ASC
1788348399.82530.0019Using template: /templates/pages/attributes/seo.html
1788348399.82550.0002 [1] SELECT regionID, regionTemplate, regionPage, regionRev AS rev FROM swt_content_regions WHERE regionKey='Banner image' AND (regionPage='/news/post' OR regionPage='*')
1788348399.82670.0011 [nil] SELECT * FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, c.regionID, idx.pageID, c.itemJSON, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_content_index idx JOIN swt_content_items c ON idx.itemID=c.itemID AND idx.itemRev=c.itemRev AND idx.regionID=c.regionID JOIN swt_content_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev AND idx2.indexKey='_order' WHERE ((idx.regionID=104 AND idx.itemRev=0)) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemRev=idx2.itemRev ) as tbl GROUP BY itemID, pageID, itemJSON, sortval, regionID ORDER BY sortval ASC
1788348399.82820.0015 [82] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageDepth >=0 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1788348399.83250.0043 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1788348399.83370.0012 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1788348399.83680.0031Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template.html
1788348399.83680.0001 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1788348399.83760.0008 [4] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1788348399.83830.0006 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1788348399.84090.0027 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1788348399.8420.0011 [7] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1788348399.84270.0007 [9] Using template: /templates/navigation/ps_nav_template_children.html
1788348399.84520.0025 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' OR pageSortPath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1788348399.84620.0011 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageHidden=0 AND pageNew=0 AND pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition
1788348399.84950.0032 [1] Using template: /templates/navigation/breadcrumbs.html
1788348399.85010.0007Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1788348399.85040.0003 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1788348399.85130.0009Using template: /templates/blog/author.html
1788348399.85190.0005 [1] SELECT SQL_CALC_FOUND_ROWS DISTINCT tbl.* FROM ( SELECT idx.itemID, main.*, idx2.indexValue as sortval FROM swt_blog_index idx JOIN swt_blog_posts main ON idx.itemID=main.postID AND idx.itemKey='postID' JOIN swt_blog_index idx2 ON idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey='postID' AND idx2.indexKey='_id' WHERE 1=1 AND ((idx.indexKey='postSlug' AND idx.indexValue='working-washlands')) AND idx.itemID=idx2.itemID AND idx.itemKey=idx2.itemKey GROUP BY idx.itemID, idx2.indexValue, postID ) as tbl WHERE (postStatus='Published' AND postDateTime<='2026-09-02 11:26:00' ) GROUP BY itemID, sortval ORDER BY sortval ASC LIMIT 0, 1
1788348399.85490.003 [1] SELECT FOUND_ROWS() AS `count`
1788348399.85540.0005 [1] Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1788348399.85890.0034Using template: /templates/blog/comment_form.html
1788348399.860.0011 [nil] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_comments WHERE 1=1 AND postID=1464 AND commentStatus='LIVE' ORDER BY FIELD(webmentionType, 'like', 'repost', 'comment', NULL) ASC, commentDateTime ASC
1788348399.93310.0731 [0] Using template: /templates/blog/comment.html
1788348399.93330.0002Using template: /templates/blog/post.html
1788348399.93350.0002 [1] SELECT * FROM swt_blog_authors WHERE authorID='1' LIMIT 1
1788348399.93430.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/what-we-do' OR pageSortPath='/what-we-do' LIMIT 1
1788348399.93520.0009 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-002' LIMIT 1
1788348399.93610.0009 [7] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-002%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1788348399.93930.0031 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1788348399.940.0007 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1788348399.94260.0027 [6] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1788348399.94340.0008 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1788348399.94410.0007 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1788348399.94480.0007 [38] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1788348399.94820.0034 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1788348399.94880.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1788348399.95150.0027 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1788348399.95490.0034 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/visit' OR pageSortPath='/visit' LIMIT 1
1788348399.95580.0009 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-004' LIMIT 1
1788348399.95630.0006 [30] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-004%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1788348399.960.0037 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1788348399.96070.0006 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1788348399.96330.0027 [29] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1788348399.96540.002 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/make-a-difference' OR pageSortPath='/make-a-difference' LIMIT 1
1788348399.96630.0009 [1] SELECT pageID, pageParentID, pageDepth, pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition='000-005' LIMIT 1
1788348399.96690.0006 [11] SELECT * FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageNew=0 AND pageHidden=0 AND pageTreePosition LIKE '000-005%' AND pageDepth >=1 AND pageDepth<=2 ORDER BY pageTreePosition ASC
1788348399.97010.0032 [1] SELECT pageTreePosition FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pagePath='/news/post' LIMIT 1
1788348399.97080.0007 [2] SELECT pageID FROM swt_pages_staging WHERE pageTreePosition IN ('000-006-001', '000-006', '000') ORDER BY pageTreePosition DESC
1788348399.97340.0026 [10] Using template: /templates/navigation/footer-nav.html
1788348399.97450.0012Request time: 0.3486
1788348399.97450Process time: 0.3484
1788348399.97450Memory: 1.6228