HOW TO USE FLOODPLAINS FOR FLOOD RISK ... - SGGW

discharge, increased sediment load and altered patterns
of erosion and sedimentation (Gregory et al.,
1987; Starkel et al., 1991). Subsequent intensification
of direct channel works was, in part, a response to the
changes in channel morphology resulting from this
deforestation (Leach and Leach, 1982). Initially these
works were primitive, mainly for the provision of local
water power and flows. Subsequently, larger scale
changes occurred to improve the navigability of rivers,
prevent flooding and reclaim floodplains, largely in
response to a developing commercial environment
(Darby, 1983). The 19 th century saw a boom in river
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PART II – Background
regulation activities, driven by three main factors; a
need to create more agricultural land to provide food
for rapidly growing urban populations, a need to control
the breeding grounds of malaria-carrying mosquitoes
and a desire to control increased flooding. Already
by the end of the 18 th century dam building
technology was well established, but the peak period
of construction was 1950-1980 (Petts, 1989). The end
of this period coincides with the realisation that environmental
damage was resulting from these activities,
and today there is a perceived need to return rivers
and floodplains to a more natural, sustainable state.