If a severe flood were to burst the banks of the Thames Richmond would be one of the biggest casualties in the region, according to the latest reports.
And a Richmond Council-produced map shows, in the event of a sharp rise in river levels, much of Kew and nearly the whole of Barnes would face a “high probability” of flooding.
In its Flooding in England report and Long Term Investment Strategy for England the Environment Agency lists the borough as the sixth most at-risk-of-flooding local authority area within the Thames region - and recommends a £20bn investment over 25 years to protect the country from the effects of climate change.
Co-ordinator of the Thames Landscape Strategy, Jason Debney said the possibility of building a “massive great wall along the river” had been suggested but quickly dismissed.
“It’s hideously expensive and would need to be at least two and a half metres high,” he explained.
Mr Debney, who is responsible for creating a 100-year blueprint for the Thames between Hampton and Kew, stressed the current flood risk levels should not cause panic and that Kew and Barnes “have a lot of protection”.
He said the concern lay over how changing rainfall patterns could affect river levels, with a 40 per cent rise in levels being predicted over the next century.
“The Thames barrier and tidal flood defences can be used to protect from a tidal flood surge, they can also be used to protect our part of London from a fluvial flood (water coming downstream from Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire) but they cannot use them for both at the same time,” Mr Debney continued.
“They will not be able to use it as often to save our part of the world from a fluvial flood.
“Old Deer Park, Royal Mid Surrey Golf Course, Marble Hill Park, Kew Gardens, Petersham Meadows and Ham Lands - all of these areas over the next century are going to be getting a lot wetter.”
While flooding on this scale may have “big implications for quite a few riverside properties around here,” Mr Debney said work was already underway on preventing future problems, including restoring lost flood plains like Petersham Meadows.
The council is also aware of issues produced by climate change and has already produced the first comprehensive Multi Agency Flood Response Plan in London, to deal with any flooding event.
To see if your home is in a flood risk area and receive advice on what to do visit environment-agency.gov.uk.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here