A case study in managing complexity and a networked problem.
The town of Pickering in North Yorkshire flooded 4 times in 10 years, causing £7m in damage in 2007 and protest marches by the local inhabitants.
Forced by government refusal to fund traditional flood protection the local council consulted a wide range of experts and academics and looked at local history before undertaking a widespread scheme to manage the network of water sources leading to the construction of 160 "porous dams" which only cost £2m and which have been credited with saving the town from the worst of the recent (2015-16) unprecedented flooding that has wrought devastation elsewhere in the UK.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-34137466
http://www.forestry.gov.uk/fr/infd-7zuclx
http://www.pickeringtown.info/tag/flood-defences/
http://www.welcometopickering.co.uk/about-pickering/about-the-town/slowing-the-flow/