Performance impact estimation method:
Performance impact estimation information:
Technical monitoring:
• Performance of measures during rain events (e.g. infiltration rates) and the development of vegetation captured using fixed-point time lapse cameras at key locations near to the interventions, which took a photo every 15 minutes during the monitoring period (day and night)
• Environmental conditions, including the timings and size of rain events, temperature, wind direction and speed, and humidity, monitored using weather stations; this enabled a comparative analyses to be made with the fixed-point photo monitoring and other monitoring data
• Aspects such as rain water inputs and infiltration times monitored using flowmeters at inlets (e.g. downpipes from roofs) and pressure sensors in basins, in order to understand the impact of selected rainfall events on surface water run-off, and in turn calculate the amounts of water diverted from reaching the sewer network
• Thermal monitoring using a thermal imaging camera to understand the impact on the urban heat island effect, with a focus on key aspects such as green roofs on particularly hot/cold days and comparisons made with untreated surrounding areas
• Biodiversity monitoring on the green roofs, using vegetation surveys to understand the floral species diversity (inventories to record every floral species and quadrats to monitor experimental plots on Richard Knight House); % vegetation cover was also monitored through this process
• Photographic monitoring during site visits to create an archive of the development of biodiversity and to monitor elements as they develop and mature; residents were also encouraged to participate in this through a photography competition
• Simulated storm events to assess how selected interventions would perform in a 1 in 100 year storm event (as they were designed for), by pumping water into the intervention and monitoring data readings from the relevant monitoring equipment such as pressure sensors, as well as undertaking photographic documentation and visual assessment.
Cost assessement method:
Social Return On Investment (SROI): this is a framework for measuring and accounting for a much broader concept of value, incorporating social, economic and environmental costs and benefits. The SROI exercise measured the benefits of the climate adaptation interventions to local communities beyond their immediate role of improving resilience to climate change - such as community cohesion, understanding of climate change, and awareness of its impacts.
How cost effective:
The SROI gave a social value of the project as £4.39 in benefits for every £1 invested.