Title: Protecting Pentewan
Author: Environment Agency South West Region
Document Type: Monograph
Abstract:
Nowadays Pentewan is a small busy holiday centre, on the south Cornish coast. But in the 19th and 20th centuries it was a bustling port and industrial centre. Evidence of this is still there - although blocked off from the sea, the old harbour is a reminder of when cargo ships visited, trading in coal, timber and china clay, and fishing vessels moored alongside the village. Pentewan has a long history of flooding from the Pentewan Stream, which is only two kilometres long and flows down to the disused harbour in the centre of the village. The stream drains a small wooded valley to the north of the village and becomes a mere trickle in summer. However, on 26 November 1997, the Pentewan Stream caused a devastating flood. An intense thunderstorm dropped more than 80 mm of rain in seven hours - 30mm of which fell in just half an hour. The principal cause of the flooding was a small culvert running beneath houses in the Square. Debris washed downstream by floodwater also blocked the culvert, contributing to the flooding. Also, floodwater was unable to escape from the harbour as it is blocked off from the sea. The Environment Agency considered several options to speed the flow of water past houses in Pentewan Square. A key consideration was the possibility of damage to the many old cottages in the centre of the village if tunnelling or pipe laying was used to provide the extra flow capacity.
Publisher: Environment Agency
Publication Date: [after 1997]
Publication Place: Exeter
Subject Keywords: Flood control; Flood risk management; Streams
Geographic Keywords: EA South West; Pentewan; Pentewan stream
Extent: 11
Permalink: http://www.environmentdata.org/archive/ealit:1220
Total file downloads: 378
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