THE Borders is set to be the one of the first in Scotland to pilot controlling floods naturally.
In a report out last week, WWF Scotland says restoring nature around rivers is not only an effective way to stop flooding but also a highly economic o
ne.
The same hydrologists who worked on WWF Scotland's 'Slowing the Flow' are looking at impeding flooding naturally on the rivers above Hawick.
They will bring their findings and suggestions back within the next few weeks.
WWF Scotland argues climate change and European directives are bringing an urgency to managing flooding effectively.
Their four-year study found that by holding flood water upstream through recreating wetlands and flood plains, it would save destruction downstream – and reduce the need for costly flood defence walls.
They suggest restoring the rivers' 'natural sponges' of wetlands, reconnecting rivers with flood plains, replanting upland woodlands to cut down run-off from hills and planting trees and vegetation along riverbanks.
They also say allowing water channels to meander instead of going straight should slow water flow as would reinstating natural dams and blocking artificial drains.
Luke Comins - Tweed Forum manager
Tweed Forum manager Luke Comins (pictured) said: "WWF's report is important as it focuses on the areas where floods start – in the uplands – rather than treating the symptoms in the towns further downstream.
"If this work was rolled out on a bigger scale across the catchment then there is a real chance that this could play an important role for a number of Border towns in the future."
The Borders has witnessed disastrous floods in the last three years at Selkirk and Hawick when when more than £1million of damage was wrought on homes, businesses and both town's rugby clubs.
Tweed Forum, which promotes the sustainable use of the whole Tweed catchment area, has been talking to WWF over the last year as it co-ordinated the sustainable flooding project on the upper sections of the Teviot and Borthwick.
Tweed Forum manager Luke Comins said: "This area was obviously a priority due to the severity of flooding in recent years."
The hydrologists highlighted areas for action on the Borthwick and in Craik Forest and have modelled the area to find where water storage could be increased and the overland flow slowed down.
Mr Comins said: "It (the hydrologists' report) is likely to include the blocking of ditches, the restoration of valley wetlands, reinstatement of meanders, the planting of native riparian trees and the reduction of bank erosion, ie many of the prescriptions detailed in the WWF report.
"We are looking at a budget of between £40-50,000 with contributions from SBC, WWF, SEERAD, SNH, SEPA and the Forestry Commission."
And local communities would be consulted on the hydrologists recommendations.
Mr Comins said: "The aim is to trial these techniques to see if they can slow down the flow and help reduce the height of the flood peak in Hawick ... This is a pilot to find how effective these measures are and is obviously not the solution for Hawick's problems.
"This is not instead of the hard engineering that will take place in Hawick, it's in addition.
"It is likely to help in the long term and the advantages are that it does not need maintenance like flood walls and is a great deal cheaper."
Meanwhile, Scottish Borders councillors will hear reports from officials in the next few weeks on tackling flooding hotspots such as Peebles, Galashiels, Selkirk and Hawick using largely 'hard engineering' techniques.
