The River Clwyd

1. The River Clwyd Chapter 4 What happens to the river when there is too much water? Next Page

2. After Before Discuss and then click here What is a flood? • A flood is water in a place that is normally considered to be dry, in other words - water in the wrong place e.g. • in a house when a pipe bursts or a sink overflows. • in a playground when it rains too much • alongside a river when the water goes over its banks (this is the type of flood we’re going to look at) Back to questions Next Page

3. Discuss and then click here What causes a river to flood? • A river floods when it has too much water in it. This is caused by • an unusually heavy downpour of rain • a few continuous days of heavy rain • a quick melt of a large quantity of snow Next Page Back to questions

4. Discuss and then click here How does it effect people? • A river flood can cause a great deal of hardship and misery: • at its worst it can cause people to die. • it can wash away or damage houses – causing people to lose valuable treasures and furniture and to be homeless. • it can damage roads and railway tracks – stopping help arriving and people getting away. • it can cause crops to be ruined and the death of animals. • it can damage factories and businesses – causing businesses to close and people to lose jobs. • Water from a flood is dirty with mud and the contents of drains. It ruins furniture and the house itself. It takes a long time to dry out and it is altogether a very expensive business – emotionally and materially. Next Page Back to questions

5. and The County Council Who is responsible for protecting us from floods? Discuss and then click here • The Environment Agency is responsible for helping us avoid floods: • they identify areas likely to flood • they help plan to avoid floods • they tell us what to do if there is a flood • they keep an eye on water levels • they warn us if we are in danger of flooding • they carry out schemes to prevent flooding • The County Council also work to help us avoid flooding by carrying out necessary schemes to stop floods occurring. Visit the Environment Agency website to see if your area is at risk of flooding or if there is a flood alert in action. http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/subjects/flood/ Back to questions Next Page

6. Discuss and then click here How do we avoid floods? One way is to build flood defences in the form of embankments. These raise the level of the land and stop flood waters spreading. These are built away from the river to allow room for more water to collect. You can also divert rivers away from built up areas and therefore avoid flooding properties. Another solution is to set aside large areas or lakes to contain the flood waters without damage to people, properties or land. The flood waters can then be controlled. The embankment holds the water back. It allows an area for the flood water to collect. The water is higher than the surrounding farmland. A few hours later the flood has gone. Back to questions Next Page

7. The Ruthin Floods Which part of Ruthin flooded? Why and when did the floods happen? What caused the flooding? How often do the floods happen? Next Page

8. Which part of Ruthin flooded? Click here to see slide show pictures of the Ruthin floods The main flooded area was Mwrog Street, Borthyn and Mill Street, in the lower parts of Ruthin. (Shaded red) Photographs from Denbighshire County Council, Department of Transport and Infrastructure. Next Page Back to questions

9. Why and when did the floods happen? There was exceptionally heavy rain on the days of the floods. Look at the graph of rainfall in Ruthin. What days do you think the floods happened on? Next Page Back to questions

10. Culvert Entrance What caused the flooding? • The increased flow of the river happened because of the great amount of water due to the heavy rain. The flood happened because: • the River Clwyd burst its banks on three separate occasions in two weeks. • the Mwrog Stream culvert, which takes the water under the road, became blocked. This meant the water ran down the road and then into the River Clwyd. Mwrog Stream Culvert Exit Mwrog Stream Culvertapproximately 600metres of underground tunnel Back to questions Next Page

11. How often did the floods happen? History of flooding:June 1931 – Depths of water 2 to 3 feet. Mwrog Street, Borthyn and Mill Street. October 1966 - Mwrog Street, Borthyn and Mill Street. 1980s – few details 1990 – flooded during Urdd Eisteddfod March 1998 – Mwrog Street “Residents looked on as gallons of muddy water came into their homes when a main culvert collapsed and sent a torrent down the street.” Vale Advertiser. October and November 2000 – Mwrog Street, Borthyn and Mill Street flooded. Back to questions Picture from Denbighshire Archives Next Page

12. What happens to the river when there is too much water? See if you can answer the questions – click on the question to see the answer. What is a flood? What causes a river to flood? How does it effect people? Who is responsible for protecting us from floods? How can we avoid floods? The Ruthin Floods Which part of Ruthin flooded? Why and when did the floods happen? What caused the flooding? How often did the floods happen? Back to beginning