Reclaiming the Rain in Watton
Watton is a scenic & historic market town in Breckland, Norfolk, whilst Merton is a beautiful village located just outside of Watton. Both areas face difficult challenges as they feel the effects of climate change.
Working with the Community
In order to find the value in flood water, it’s important to get to know Watton’s community.
By understanding what current opinions and behaviours are, who suffers the worst from flooding, and who might benefit the most from additional water sources we can begin to put together a plan that works for everyone.
Community working group Sessions
We are hosting community working group sessions where we work together to come up with solutions to flood risk alongside water re-use. This allows the group to share ideas and thoughts that can help Thompson become water resilient. We are giving the community working group skills and knowledge on project delivery. Please look out for these sessions via this website under project news – upcoming events.
Watton From the air
Why Was Watton chosen?
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The community of Watton showed they have a strong interest in exploring how the community could be more water resilient. This interest has been shared across a wide range of individuals, organisations and local landowners, putting cooperation at the heart of their project.
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Watton has the opportunity to provide innovative water re-use opportunities as an urban setting surrounded by a larger rural area. Due to this, there is potential to work closely with local residents and organisations
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In the past Watton has suffered from surface water flooding. There were 6 major flood events between 2012 to 2021, whereby a number of properties were internally flooded. Creative solutions will be needed to address the local flood risk.
Problems and Challenges facing Watton
Watton is a scenic & historic market town in Breckland, Norfolk, which faces difficult challenges from changing weather patterns. In the future it’s likely Watton will face both flooding and drought, so it’s important to be ready to manage the effects.
flooding
Recent flood reports involving Watton show that there is a risk to residential dwellings from surface water. This means that planning ahead to increase resilience in Watton is very important, and also raises fantastic opportunities to find new ways to use flood water.
Water Scarcity
As our climate changes, the country will face increasing challenges in managing our water resources, and this is important for Watton too. Whether looking at fresh water supply to buildings, or water dependent habitats in the environment, it’s vital to protect what we have and improve it wherever we can.
