Jeremy Purseglove - Taming the Flood - Rivers, Wetlands and the Centuries-Old Battle Against Flooding

William Collins

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London SE1 9GF

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First published in the United Kingdom by Oxford University Press, 1988

This revised and updated second edition first published by William Collins in 2015

This eBook edition published by William Collins in 2017

Text © Jeremy Purseglove 1988, 2015, 2017

Cover photograph showing sunset over the flooded Somerset Levels, February 2014 © Matt Cardy/Getty Images

Jeremy Purseglove asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

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Source ISBN: 9780008132217

Ebook Edition © 2017 ISBN: 9780008132224

Version: 2017-03-08

‘ Taming the Flood most deserves its status as a classic […] for its evocation of place […] the descriptions of wetlands are exquisitely written. This fine book calls for, and takes, a longer view.’

The Sunday Times

‘His original determination remains the driving force of this compelling book. Mr Purseglove’s mission was to show why rivers really matter to England and how our wetlands are a vital part of the natural scene. His descriptions are wonderfully accurate, his writing captivating and his enthusiasm catching. On any level, it’s a good read, but, as a call to action, it’s outstanding […] It is his love of the subject, his deep knowledge and poetic insight that wins us from the very first page.’

John Selwyn Gummer, Country Life magazine

‘Jeremy Purseglove has a gift that is increasingly rare in these days of scientific specialisation – of joining practical wisdom about working with nature and the land to an imaginative appreciation of their place in our history and culture.’

Richard Mabey

‘An authoritative history of British wetlands and the centuries-old battle to control them. It is a celebration – beautifully illustrated – of life in and around the water and it is an eloquent plea to water authorities, to farmers and to Government to respect that life.’

BBC Wildlife

‘Delightfully written and beautifully illustrated.’

Observer

‘A pioneering and counter-cultural work.’

Oliver Rackham

To all those engineers, digger-drivers and farmers who are taking nature conservation seriously.

*

HOTSPUR. See how this river comes me cranking in,

And cuts me from the best of all my land

A huge half-moon, a monstrous cantle out.

I’ll have the current in this place damm’d up,

And here the smug and silver Trent shall run

In a new channel, fair and evenly;

It shall not wind with such a deep indent

To rob me of so rich a bottom here.

GLENDOWER. Not wind! It shall, it must; you see it doth.

SHAKESPEARE, I Henry IV , III. i.

CONTENTS

COVER

TITLE PAGE

COPYRIGHT

PRAISE

DEDICATION

PREFACE

1. River versus Drain: The Conflict within Traditional Flood Management

2. The Fear of the Flood: Traditional Attitudes to Wetlands

3. The Winning of the Waters: A History of the Fight against Flooding until the Post-War Era

4. The Wasting of the Waters: The Real Cost of Orthodox River Management

5. Riverside Riches: The Need for Management on Wet Land and some Alternative Economic Uses

6. Civilizing the Rivers: The New Approach to River Management

7. Creative Flow: Rules for Good Practice in River Management

8. The Last-Ditch Stand: The Wetlands Debate, 1974–1988

9. The Flood Untamed: Rivers and Wetlands, 1988–2017

PICTURE SECTION

FOOTNOTES

NOTES

INDEX

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABOUT THIS BOOK

ABOUT THIS AUTHOR

ABOUT THE PUBLISHER

Taming the Flood , first written in 1986, was long accepted as a standard work on the conflicts between flood alleviation and nature conservation in England and Wales and how to manage rivers in an integrated way. It finally went out of print and then it rained. It rained a lot. Large areas of the country went under water. Floods and all the dilemmas and controversies that come with them are back on the agenda. For these reasons it seems very timely to revise and update this book. In an additional final chapter I have examined the latest twists and turns in these issues leading to 2016.