flooding - ciwem...julie foley, our fcerm strategy director at the environment agency, said: “we...

FLOODING &COASTAL CHANGE 2019

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1FLOODING & COASTAL CHANGE 2019

Our riverine and coastal environments are vital to our economy, wellbeing and

commercial and social fabric. They are amongst some of the most beautiful places in the world and are a rich natural resource. Managing these places is a huge responsibility and a privilege.

The Flooding & Coastal Change Supplement is an opportunity for the flood and coastal erosion risk management community to share experience, knowledge and practice. It is also a chance to celebrate the many great examples of how we recognise our responsibility and excel at meeting the challenges that we face.

This year, perhaps more than ever before, we can positively influence

the way that we manage flood and erosion risk. The Government’s 25 year Environment Plan sets the ambition – to be the first generation to leave our environment in a better state than we found it. We also have the opportunity to shape a new strategy for flood and coastal erosion risk management in England looking ahead to 2100.

The Environment Agency’s approach to engaging with people to develop this strategy is world-leading. We are being given a genuine opportunity to influence and I hope that we all seize this.

The Flood & Coast conference provides a unique and well timed forum for us to consider how we would like our most precious of environments to be in the future. l

2 Time to change The Flood and Coastal Risk Management (FCRM) Strategy by the Environment Agency.

4 Looking to the future By Valerie Robertson, Principal Environmental Economist and Alex Fraser, Water Engineer and Sales Lead.

7 The role of groundwater in flooding By Mark Fermor, Chairman of GeoSmart Information Limited.

10 How we must adapt our urban drainage systems to make our future towns and cities more liveable By Elliot Gill C.WEM FCIWEM.

12 To build or not to build on flood plains? By Fiona Barbour.

14 The Environment Agency’s Next Generation Supplier Arrangements By Brian Francis, National Framework Manager, Environment Agency.

16 Flood risk management – where are we heading? By Paul Cobbing, Chief Executive of the National Flood Forum.

19 70 years of rivers and coasts By Fay Bull BSc (Hons) MSc MCIWEM CWEM CSci, Chair of the CIWEM Rivers and Coastal Group and Regional Director for Water, AECOM.

20 Property Flood Resilience: A new Code of Practice By Alastair Moseley, Honorary Vice President of CIWEM and Chair of the Property Flood Resilience Action Plan Task Group 4.

25 Managing our coasts as the climate changes: a major challenge that needs big ideas By Dr Andy Russell, Senior Analyst at the Committee on Climate Change (CCC).

28 FLOOD AND COAST 2019 Flood & Coast 2019 update.

Foreword

ContentsTerry Fuller, CIWEM chief executive

Copyright of editorial content is held by The Chartered Institution Of Water And Environmental Management (CIWEM). Reproduction in whole or part is forbidden except with permission of the publisher. Data, discussion and conclusions developed by authors in this publication are not intended for use without independent substantiating investigation on the part of potential users. Opinions expressed are those of the authors and are not necessarily those of AMR Media and CIWEM. The Flooding & Coastal Change supplement has been printed on FSC and PEFC paper stock which certifies the timber source originated from legal and sustainable forests. The Chartered Institution of Water and Environment Management – 106-109 Saffron Hill, London. EC1N 8QS Tel: +44 (0)20 7831 [email protected]

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Time tochangeAn Environment Agency update


C limate change is the biggest risk we face – it is already causing more frequent, intense

flooding and sea level rise. We need to take urgent action to prepare for a range of future scenarios including a 4°C rise in global temperature. This is the driving force behind our Flood and Coastal Risk Management (FCRM) Strategy consultation, which sets out how we will build climate resilient places around the country.

A new approach is needed to improve the resilience of the nation to flooding and coastal change – at present this is too reactive, short-term and piecemeal, and if don’t make changes, we risk locking future generations into a legacy of increasing challenges. Our draft strategy takes a long-term approach which will enable us to adapt to the growing pressures of climate change and population growth.

We are leading a conversation with people and organisations who are affected by or work to manage flooding and coastal change. Collaboration has been wide-ranging and inclusive. So far, over 150 people and 90 organisations have taken part in an extensive engagement process to help shape the direction of the draft Strategy. This engagement has allowed us to significantly progress our thinking and ensure the draft Strategy sets ambitious steps to help the nation manage flooding and coastal change.

The VisionWe can tackle flooding and coastal change if we act now. Our vision is for a nation ready for, and resilient to, flooding and coastal change – today, tomorrow and to the year 2100. The draft strategy aims to blend long term ambitions with shorter term practical steps. The aspirations for the Strategy focus on creating climate resilient places, ensuring today’s growth and infrastructure is resilient in tomorrow’s climate and creating a nation of climate champions.

n Climate resilient placesWorking with partners to explore and develop the concept of standards for flood and coastal resilience as well as a national suite of tools that can be used to deliver flood and coastal resilience in places.

n Today’s growth and infrastructure resilient in tomorrow’s climate

Getting the right kind of development in the right places to deliver sustainable growth and working with government and other agencies to enable infrastructure resilient to flooding and coastal change.

n A nation of climate championsBetter preparing society through education and accessible digital

information as well as being a world leader in flood and coastal resilience.

‘A nation of climate champions’ underpins the other aspirations by better preparing society. This will be achieved through education and accessible digital information, as well as ensuring the flood and coastal sector continues to be a world leader in flood and coastal change resilience. We aim to work with the sector, all levels of education and institutions to achieve this ambition by guiding on what knowledge, capabilities, and professional development will be needed for the future.

Next StepsThe FCRM Strategy is now open for consultation and will remain open until 4th July. We are asking for your feedback on the vision for year 2100, the steps along the way, and what needs to happen to

implement them. We want to hear your views, so we can ensure the final strategy sets an ambition that everyone can see and understand their part in. We are running a stand on the FCRM Strategy at Flood and Coastal 2019 and we look forward to listening to your thoughts.

Julie Foley, our FCERM Strategy Director at the Environment Agency, said:

“We want to work together to create a nation that is resilient to the future

challenges posed by flooding and coastal change. Everyone needs to play their part - that’s why we want to invite organisations and individuals to take the time to contribute to this important consultation. This is the perfect opportunity to find out more and to have your say on how we plan together for a climate resilient future.”

You can view the consultation documents and questions online at https://consult.environment-agency.gov.uk/fcrm/fcerm-national-strategy-info/

After the consultation the Environment Agency will use your views and others to explore further the concepts being proposed and ultimately finalise the strategy. The final strategy will also sit alongside Defra’s forthcoming flood policy statement and the Environment Agency’s next 5-year Action Plan, due to be published in 2020. l

FLOODING & COASTAL CHANGE 2019

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A s flood risk management professionals, we have an opportunity to show real global

leadership in addressing environmental issues and leave the natural environment in a better state than it is today. A lot can change within just one generation.

Conventional approaches to flood risk management tend to favour engineered defences which are justified by an economic appraisal framework that focuses on property damages rather than people and the natural environment. To deliver greater benefits for both current and future generations we need to include the value and benefits that the natural environment provides in our decision making.

Jacobs and Simetrica have been working together to develop a framework, called TotalValueX™, for assessing the total societal value of a policy, project or programme. The framework, which can be designed for application to flood risk management projects across the globe, provides a comprehensive analysis of impacts on local communities, individuals, businesses, local and national government and the environment.

In 25 years’ time will we be living in a country that truly values the natural environment and the benefits it gives us?The government released a 25 Year

As flood risk management professionals can we be the first generation to leave the natural environment in a better state than we found it?

Looking to thefutureValerie Robertson, Principal Environmental Economist, lead author

Alex Fraser, Water Engineer and Sales Lead, co-author

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Environment Plan in January 2018, which promises to end plastic waste, create new habitats for endangered species, deliver a ‘green Brexit’, create nature-friendly schools, and lead the way for other countries to tackle environmental destruction.

For our profession, the 25 Year Environment Plan provides us with a clear mandate for more holistic approaches to the appraisal and delivery of flood risk management interventions. At Jacobs, we champion this mandate with integrated design teams incorporating design ecologists and natural capital experts. Through the Environment

Agency’s Collaborative Delivery Teams, under its Next Generation Supplier Agreement (NGSA), we can explore more innovative solutions that deliver integrated system-based flood risk management interventions and strive to place a “natural capital” approach at the core of everything we deliver.

What does a natural capital approach mean in flood risk management?A natural capital approach means taking the value of nature into account when making decisions about flood risk management, which can often be difficult to express in financial terms. It will require us to take account of the full range of “natural assets” that give benefits (services) to humans, such as forests and urban green spaces that provide clean air, carbon sequestration and recreation, rivers that provide freshwater for drinking, and wetlands that provide protection from floods.

There are many methods and tools synonymous with a ‘natural capital approach’; however improved decision-making is at the heart of all of them. “For a natural capital approach to work we need

to place science and economic evidence at the forefront of decision-making, to yield the best return on every pound spent” 1.

Can Flood Risk Management professionals be champions for natural capital?One of the key actions in the 25 Year Environment Plan, which our profession should be championing, is to embed a ‘net environmental gain’ principle into every flood risk management intervention, be it property resilience, natural flood risk management or hard infrastructure. Jacobs advocates natural capital thinking across our

teams by being agile and helping each other to find new, better approaches.

The revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) 3 strengthens where biodiversity net gains should be built into Local Plans. However, for flood risk management it has missed the opportunity to deliver more natural capital that society can benefit from. It is anticipated that the NPPF will be strengthened and expanded to include wider natural capital benefits, such as flood protection, recreation and improved water and air quality, but until then we should collectively show leadership and take the initiative.

There is uncertainty in how to measure and deliver net environmental gain; for example, what proportion of compensatory habitat should be located on or off-site, what level of gain should be targeted (10% or more)? Defra along with others are developing an ‘eco-metric ’4 to measure net changes in natural capital and ecosystem services from land-use change or development. The eco-metric will work by applying a matrix of scores for different habitats and ecosystem services, which are modified by

multipliers reflecting habitat condition, spatial location, delivery risk, and the time taken for new habitats to reach maturity.

What could a ‘net gain’ approach mean for flood risk management?The net gain approach opens opportunities for truly integrated project planning and delivery, as well as innovative funding mechanisms. Water environments are amongst the richest in natural assets, therefore, flood risk management activities have great potential in adopting natural capital approaches. At a strategic/programme development level

this involves considering multiple environmental, societal and economic benefits from the outset making better decisions that then drive local scheme objectives. At the local level this could bolster the case for creating or enhancing the natural functions of our catchments and estuaries to provide flood defence benefits over traditional, engineered solutions.

For other types of planning and development that are not flood risk management driven, there are opportunities to achieve environmental net gain by delivering wetlands to provide flood storage as an incidental benefit. For example, borrow-pits for major construction projects could be located where they can be restored post-construction to provide flood storage / wetland habitat, benefiting the scheme directly and providing valuable ecosystem services for the benefit of all.

While policy goes some way to driving better decision-making, in practice investment decisions are informed by an understanding of costs and benefits. This underlies the importance of a sound economic framework that

Framework for ensuring we have the information on natural capital to make informed decisions 2


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captures the full range of financial, societal and environmental impacts.

If we include natural capital in our decision making does it change the outcome?A recent review of existing Shoreline Management Plans (SMPs), undertaken by Jacobs for the Committee on Climate Change, found that it was highly probable that managed realignment would be the preferred choice along a greater proportion of coastline if a natural capital approach was adopted. Even more so where the proximity to coastal communities and the cultural value associated with high-value coastal habitat is properly factored in.

The review produced a national scale cost-benefit analysis for managing the risk of coastal change. Each SMP comprises smaller policy units (PUs) with a preferred policy for each PU. Critically, the review identified that the policy for each PU had been selected based on the implementation cost and avoided property damages only. Damage to natural capital assets was not accounted for, nor were the benefits associated with habitat creation through managed realignment.

A key Jacobs recommendation was for future updates to SMPs to incorporate those environmental costs and benefits.

What are the differences between social value and natural capital?There is significant overlap between social value and natural capital. The aim of both approaches is to improve decision-making by considering social and environmental outcomes that deliver benefits for all. Whereas natural capital looks at the flow of benefits or ‘services’ to people from environmental assets, social value considers the total economic, social and environmental impact of an intervention. HM Treasury Green Book is underpinned by the principle that all use of public spending, assets and resources should seek to maximise social value.

TotalValueX™ – provides a comprehensive analysis of impacts on people’s welfare or quality of lifeDeveloped by Jacobs and Simetrica, the TotalValueX™ framework provides a comprehensive analysis of impacts on local communities, individuals, businesses, local and national government and the environment.

TotalValueX™ is especially relevant in relation to public sector spending, including FRM investment, the overall objective of which is to improve social welfare. The key advantage of TotalValueX™ is that all impacts are expressed as welfare-consistent values – they represent impacts on people’s welfare or quality of life. Since impacts are represented by a common metric (monetary values), it is possible to compare outcomes on different stakeholders all in the same consistent terms. Crucially, the outputs can be incorporated into Cost-Benefit Analysis to determine whether they demonstrate a societal gain.

TotalValueX™ is especially relevant in relation to public sector spending, including flood risk management investment, the overall objective of which is to improve social welfare. For example, TotalValueX™ will feed into business case development that underpin the Environment Agency’s floods investment programme which will enable Jacobs to look beyond technical solutions and develop a strategy that delivers societal benefits.

As flood risk management professionals, we should feel positive about the future. As we continue to improve the methods and tools we use to value natural capital we will improve our decision-making and be confident that we can be the first generation to leave the natural environment in a better state than we found it. l

1 Environmental Audit Committee (2018) Environmental Audit Committee: The Government’s 25 Year Plan for the Environment. July 2018.

2 Adapted from Valuing Nature Natural Capital Synthesis Report, Lawson, C., Rothero, E., Gowing, D., Nisbet, T., Barsoum N., Broadmeadow, S., Skinner, A., (2018) The natural capital of floodplains: management, protection and restoration to deliver greater benefits.

3 Smith (2018) Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government: National Planning Policy Framework. February 2019.

4 Smith (2018) An Eco-metric Approach to Growing Natural Capital. October 2018.

As Flood Risk Management professionals, we can lead the way in protecting and enhancing our natural capital, and change the way we perceive nature, recognising that how we design and implement flood risk management solutions is fundamental to our society and economy.

Valerie Robertson – Principal Environmental Economist (Jacobs, Edinburgh, UK)


Groundwater is water beneath the ground surface. It plays a central role in catchment flows

in the UK and is a driving force behind flood risk, both through direct emergence when water tables are higher than usual (groundwater flooding) and as a driving force in rivers and coastal, surface water, and sewer flooding (groundwater-driven flooding). Groundwater interacts with the surface water environment to dynamically change catchment characteristics leading to runoff becoming more ‘flashy’, hence increasing flood risk from surface sources too when groundwater levels are high.

Flood studies in the UK have traditionally focused on the most immediate risk to life and communities from overtopping of river banks and flood defences, but hitherto have largely neglected the role of longer duration flooding caused by groundwater, which significantly drives economic risk to business, property and infrastructure in the more permeable catchments. Outside the flood practitioner community, and even within it, understanding of the role of groundwater is very limited.

There is often significant interannual variation in peak groundwater levels, infrequently being much higher (high consequence low probability events)

and hence missed in short term monitoring programmes, leading to unforeseen impacts on new development and the associated drainage infrastructure, including SuDs.

A typical groundwater event will often comprise the accumulation of several storm events and consideration of return period and combined probability of flooding is complex. Spatial and temporal variations in recharge require a dynamic assessment of groundwater flood risk at catchment scale to focus response and forecast onset time and duration of flooding.

To provide an example, groundwater flooding in Croydon, during the winter of 2013/14 affected 94 properties and Kenley Water Treatment Works was at risk, threatening the water supply for 47,000 people. The area remained on groundwater flood alert for 4 months. Major transport interruption included the A303 closed for 12 days and the main London-Brighton railway closed for 5 days. Work done on behalf of the Committee on Climate Change indicated the potential for a significant portion of UK infrastructure to be at risk from groundwater flooding (Figure A).

Unfortunately the UK regulatory regime is fragmented and there is

FloodingMark Fermor, Chairman of GeoSmart Information Limited

The Role of Groundwater in

Groundwater flooding in Croydon, during the winter of 2013/14 affected 94 properties and Kenley Water Treatment Works was at risk, threatening the water supply for 47,000 people


currently not an integrated catchment approach to assessing flood risk: The Environment Agency focus on rivers and the sea; whereas groundwater and surface water risks are regulated by the Lead Local Flood Authorities within County and Unitary Authorities, who are restricted to administrative boundaries and therefore less able to assess and manage groundwater, which is a catchment flow process that requires catchment regulation.

We also lack some of the tools and techniques we need to assess and manage flood risk due to this fragmentation of workstreams. We struggle to simply describe the probability of combined events, particularly when a sequence of storm events combine with groundwater flooding. In 2014 southern England and particularly the River Thames suffered one of the largest groundwater events for over 100 years. Quite simply the river was full of groundwater so even minor rainfall led to catastrophic flooding which lasted for months because the catchment dynamic had been altered.

Groundwater Flood Risk MappingNational groundwater flood risk mapping by Geosmart (Figure B) shows about 10% of mainland Britain is at risk from groundwater flooding, either directly from high water tables, or via high river levels, or tides, driving water through near-surface deposits. Groundwater contribution to other types of flooding extends the influence of groundwater more widely than this, driving high river baseflows, causing greater run-off from saturated ground and reducing the

available capacity of existing drainage systems and sewers. Groundwater flooding can have very long durations (weeks to months) and cause significant

damage to property and disruption to business and transport. These consequences are not as immediate and dramatic as flash flooding but cause

very significant economic impacts.Existing river, surface water and

groundwater flood risk maps can be combined on the basis of economic risk to property to provide a single integrated view of flood risk for planning purposes, such as has been done in Figure C (extract shows economic risk from all sources of flooding, combining existing published flood risk maps from the Environment Agency for surface water and rivers and sea with the GeoSmart groundwater flood risk map).

Groundwater Forecasting Innovation in respect of groundwater models during the last few years (and the advent of the excellent Environment Agency Open Data programme) has opened up the opportunity for live models with data feeds from the national hydrometric network. The GeoSmart Groundwater Flood Forecast Service now delivers daily probabilistic forecasts of upcoming trends to the Flood Forecast Centre, Water Companies and others as a subscription service for anyone needing to have early warning of groundwater flooding. Groundwater forecasts are used to support operational decision making and early engagement with the Environment Agency teams and other stakeholders. This helps ensure that when events of the nature of those in 2014 occur, they will not be the surprise they were then. Extending to baseflow forecasting also offers help with drought and water resource planning.

Figure D shows results that would have been obtained if the forecast had been running on 14 January 2014 to

Figure A. UK infrastructure at risk from groundwater flooding

Figure B. Extract from Groundwater Flood Risk Map

Figure C. Extract from GeoSmart map of Risk of Flooding To Property and Infrastructure from All Sources


demonstrate that flooding would have been forecast with increasing likelihood a month or more ahead of the major floods of February 2014. These developments in technology are driving real advances in flood risk management. However, the coming years need a consistent integrated effort between hydrologists and hydrogeologists working in the flood risk function of the Environment Agency before we can integrate our catchment understanding into better risk assessment and truly joined up thinking.

As an example of integrated modelling, in respect to sewer infiltration, forecasting is bringing real insight to sewer infiltration events (correlations such as those in Figure E are common).GeoSmart’s Daily Sewer Infiltration Forecast Service provides early warning of groundwater inflows and a real improvement in capabilities for sewer infiltration reduction programmes that are gearing up as we go into AMP7. These developments also support a more educated public and flood practitioner community alike on a journey towards improved flood risk management.

Analysis combining available flood map data (https://geosmartinfo.co.uk/data/groundwater-flood-risk-map/) and these ‘live’ models has helped to put groundwater into context and promote a more integrated and holistic catchment flood risk assessment. Some of the key findings are:1 Groundwater is a significant

source of flood risk to property. It causes longer duration flooding with typical damage 2 to 3 times that caused by other flooding.

2 Overall in England groundwater

flooding causes 20% to 30% of national flood economic damage to property directly and a further significant part of the total flood damage through ‘groundwater driven flooding’.

3 One of the characteristics of groundwater is a ‘long tail’ to flood events, leading to disproportionate impact and consequential losses from business and community disruption.

4 Studies in England have found about 250,000 to 300,000 residential properties are at direct risk from groundwater, and about a further million properties are at risk from a combination of groundwater with other flooding mechanisms where groundwater may increase the likelihood, severity and duration of river, surface water and coastal flood events.

5 Groundwater risk remains little known to the public and in the professional community due to technical challenges and regulatory structure.

There is inadequate data collection, analysis, and education. Currently, the issue receives little attention and hydrogeologists nationally have a peripheral role in flood risk management work. Published maps and forecast services can now start to address these issues but the role of the regulatory bodies will also be key to promoting better awareness.

6 Groundwater is a catchment flow process and an integrated catchment assessment is necessary to assess and manage the risk. It is essential to define our baseline current risk of flooding from all sources together before the incremental change to this risk due to climate change can be meaningful.

It is time to recognise with the latest tools, techniques and data, that groundwater must not be considered to be in the ‘too hard to compute’ box, and joined up teamwork between hydrogeologists and hydrologists can bring us the much needed next generation flood maps and models to achieve a fit for purpose overall flood risk assessment.

As we know intuitively, and as weather forecasters tell us, when the ground is saturated, flooding is more likely and severe. With the advent of risk maps and forecasting capabilities the role of groundwater can now be quantified and linked to prevailing flood models so that we can now gear up with the right information to achieve a balanced view of flood risk overall and face the challenges of increasing population and the changing climate. l

Figure D. GeoSmart Groundwater Flood Forecast 30 Day Prediction from 14 January 2014

Figure E. Groundwater Levels and Sewer Treatment Works Flows, illustrating the large contribution from groundwater infiltration to sewer systems

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The flooding we experience in our town and cities is not only from rivers and the sea. The way

rainfall-runoff is collected and safely removed across the surface and through buried drainage networks is also highly critical whilst being both technically and institutionally complex. Our system of overland routes, underground networks, throttles and storage is especially sensitive to climate change, ageing infrastructure and development pressures. Members of CIWEM’s Urban Drainage Group and I are committed to understanding these problems better and doing something about it to improve flood resilience in cities.

Unfortunately, though perhaps necessarily, there are many overly precise

numbers broadcast on the extent of current and future flooding risk of this type. In 2014 1 the Environment Agency estimated that 1.7 million properties in England are at risk from surface water entering, generating annual average damages of £290 million. In a new wastewater resilience metric 2, water companies have used a different method to estimate that between 5% and 30% of their population served is at risk from flooding in a 1 in 50 year event.

We can only be certain that the true size of the problem is highly variable locally and highly uncertain., Not least because of additional risks caused by blockages in pipes and the condition of local and private drainage systems – e.g.

Elliot Gill C.WEM FCIWEM is Chair of CIWEM’s Urban Drainage Group and technical director at Stantec.

to make our future towns and cities more liveable

How we must adapt our urban drainage systems


the guttering on homes. The reality is, all properties are vulnerable to flooding because of ill-conceived drainage systems, where the ‘system’ is a natural product of complex interactions between water on roofs, roads, gardens, ditches, gulleys and sewers. We can also be

certain that climate change will increase the intensity of heavy downpours, further exposing weakness in such systems and the frequency of failures.

CIWEM UDG members are currently getting to grips with a new national approach to long term planning in drainage and wastewater to tackle these challenges. Drainage and Wastewater Management Plans (DWMP) 3 are the

latest attempt to seek to standardise our approach in this arena, moving our response from one that has been reactive and piecemeal to one that is more strategic and adaptive. DWMPs will be led by water companies but be inclusive of other flood risk management agencies too. They deliberately look at least 25 years into the future and

encourage strategies which embrace new digital technologies, conventional ‘grey’ solutions as well as the retrofitting of green infrastructure through sustainable drainage systems. Uncertainty around the future performance of these systems means that our approach must be highly

adaptable, taking advantage of ‘low regret’ interventions which are robust no matter what the future holds.

The first round of DWMPs will conclude in summer 2022, making the next few years an intense and challenging period during which we must begin reimagining how water is managed in cities. To do this we must think imaginatively and genuinely

collaborate with other stakeholders in the future city. Here lies an opportunity to also improve the health, biodiversity and liveability of our communities, for example by creating new surface water bodies and blue-green places.

CIWEM Urban Drainage Group will be supporting this new approach in a number of ways through 2019 and 2020. We will

be acting as a practitioner’s forum for DWMP, helping to ensure that good practice is shared and innovations challenged and refined. We will also diversify our membership to attract people with the new cross-over skills needed to solve these challenges. These might be planners, architects or digital technologists. Finally, CIWEM is also collaborating with the Environment Agency to update technical guidance on how the latest simulation techniques can be used to model the journey that stormwater takes through cities. We do this because future ‘digital twins’ of how water moves through the natural and built environments will be key tools in how we understand, monitor and manage future flood risks in cities. l

1 Environment Agency. Long-term investment scenarios (LTIS), 20142 Range of current risk expressed in PR19 ‘risk of sewer flooding in a storm’ performance commitments 3 Water UK. A framework for the production of Drainage and Wastewater Management Plans, 2018

The reality is, all properties are vulnerable to flooding because of ill-conceived drainage systems, where the ‘system’ is a natural product of complex interactions between water on roofs, roads, gardens, ditches, gulleys and sewers


T he coastal community of Fairbourne in Wales is set to be the first village in the UK to be

abandoned as a result of climate change.The local authority has

decided it is no longer possible to keep protecting the homes and businesses of the 850 residents.

In around 25 years, or sooner, all property and infrastructure in the village will be dismantled and the site will revert to a tidal salt marsh.

It’s a fate that will befall other communities as rising sea levels and increasingly intense rainfall elevate the risk of flooding.

In the UK millions of people are living on flood plains and in coastal areas, with some level of protection provided by defences created and maintained at significant cost.

The Environment Agency is already committed to spending £2.6bn to better protect 300,000 homes.

Simply allowing the land to revert to nature isn’t an option in the great majority of locations. Communities developed around ports and river crossings are commercial hubs and cannot easily be relocated for economic and political reasons.

Where relocation is not possible and relying on higher defences alone for protection is neither effective nor sustainable, the focus must be on increasing resilience, as the Environment Agency recognises in its Draft National Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy for England.

Continuity of servicesWhile there is general consensus new homes should not be built on flood

To build or not to build on f lood plains? Unlocking flood-prone land for regeneration will help strengthen the resilience of communities vulnerable to climate change, says Fiona Barbour, Mott MacDonald’s global practice leader for rivers and flooding.

Concept design for Green Square, Sydney. Credit: © City of Sydney

FEATURE


plains that are still ‘green’, there is little agreement on how to increase flood resilience in areas where they have already been developed.

The crunch question is how do we help these communities to withstand flood events, maintain continuity of services and recover more quickly.

A counterintuitive answer is to allow new development, creating additional infrastructure which can itself play a defensive role.

New or upgraded infrastructure, for example, could reroute flood water away from residential buildings.

Sustainable drainage systems that collect and discharge rainwater safely will counteract run-off effects caused by existing hardstanding surfaces.

Residential and non-residential properties can themselves be built to be more resilient and adaptable by incorporating concrete floors and flood gates, and installing electrics at waist-high level.

In decades to come we could see more houses built on stilts, floating houses moored permanently on the water and amphibious houses able to float when water levels rise.

Risk-based approachRedeveloping urban communities in flood-risk areas to increase resilience calls for a change of mindset.

At present decisions about constructing on flood plains and coastal areas are made in a very black and white way. It is, understandably, an emotive issue.

What’s needed is a more pragmatic, risk-based approach to design, and we should re-examine what is an acceptable flood risk.

Instead of striving to provide uniform protection against, say, a 1 in 100 year event, we should focus on different scales of protection that will minimise the localised impacts of extreme weather events.

Planning and building controls should insist on designing for exceedance.

We estimate hydrology, flood outlines and levels of blockage, and the impacts of climate change, all to inform the design of assets as best we can. But these are just estimates and can provide a false level of certainty.

Putting more effort into designing for exceedance will produce infrastructure

capable of functioning even if the estimates prove inadequate and a bigger than anticipated storm comes along – as is increasingly happening with the unpredictable effects of climate change.

If we increase our understanding of where excess water will go if we experience greater rainfall than we are currently designing for, and communities agree to accept there will be water in their streets in extreme weather events (provided it is kept out of their living rooms),

we can break the cycle of repeated, disruptive and damaging flooding.

Regenerating communitiesEfforts to promote flood-resilient developments are often blocked by policies that do not allow for this risk-based approach and state building on flood plains should be the “absolute exception”, done only in areas of genuine housing shortage where no alternative land is available – as recommended by the seminal 2008 Pitt Review: Lessons learned from the 2007 floods.

I believe we should take a different view when the flood plain is already developed.

For a start, unlocking flood-prone brownfield sites for further development will ease the pressure to build on greenfield land everywhere.

Investment in redevelopment is justified by the economic and social returns as much as the reduced flood risk.

Hull will benefit from one of the biggest flood defence schemes in the country – being delivered by BAM Nuttall and Mott MacDonald – that is designed not just to protect thousands of homes and businesses, but to regenerate the city’s waterfront, create jobs and enhance the environment.

In Salisbury, Mott MacDonald provided concept designs to improve the river corridor not just to reduce flood risk but to help rejuvenate the city centre and boost tourism in the wake of the novichok nerve agent attack.

At Green Square in Sydney, one of the largest urban renewal projects in Australia, we integrated space for extreme rainfall into the infrastructure and landscape design to minimise land take and impact on utility capacities.

Such schemes emphasise the value of green space in providing routes and storage for excess rainfall during extreme events, providing treatment for improved water quality, and taking rainwater out of overstretched sewer systems.

Taking a holistic perspective, and working with all parties involved in water management, will open up opportunities for redevelopment. If denied them, communities in areas at high risk of flooding face stagnation, if not decline.

They don’t just become less resilient to flooding in future, they miss out on the economic and societal benefits. Those who can will leave, increasing social deprivation.

Delivering enhanced protection in flood-risk areas provides the confidence required to reinvest in existing buildings and assets. The regeneration effect enhances the value of protected assets further, and makes the economic case for investing in improved defences.

It’s an affordable, achievable way to improve the resilience of communities most at risk of flooding, and create happier and healthier places to live and work. l

Need help developing a case for local flood protection?Want to understand the wider economic value of redevelopment plans?Mott MacDonald’s engineers, analysts, environment specialists, economists and planners help protect people and property against flooding by providing advice and guidance on how to make an effective business case for flood defence interventions.

For more information, email: [email protected] or search ‘Mott MacDonald, river engineering’

What’s needed is a more pragmatic, risk-based approach to design, and we should re-examine what is an acceptable flood risk.

FEATURE

T hrough April and May 2019 we announced which companies have been awarded contracts

to help deliver our Next Generation Supplier Arrangements (NGSA).

These arrangements and partnerships will help to deliver our £2.6 billion capital investment programme more efficiently, as well as providing better value for money.

The core changes include the replacement of our previous delivery frameworks. The Water and Environment Management (WEM) Framework is replaced by the Collaborative Delivery Framework (CDF). Other new specialist frameworks include Marine & Coastal, Mapping & Modelling and Client Support.

We still have an important legacy of work that will be delivered through the WEM framework and will continue to work with our WEM partners to deliver this commitment.

The CDF runs until 2023 with the opportunity to extend to 2027. The specialist frameworks run until 2023. They will help us mitigate climate change and reduce its impacts, whilst helping us to achieve 300,000 homes better protected from coastal erosion and flooding by 2021.

By implementing NGSA we are following the recommendations from the Government Construction Strategy. This sets out Government’s plan to develop its capability as a construction client and act as an exemplary client across the industry. It includes new ways of working which will better help protect communities and the environment whilst ensuring that sustainable development is at the very core of all projects.

The new arrangements will improve our response to the threats of climate change and extreme weather. It will also lead to better long term team working

with our partners and new ways of engaging with local organisations and people. This will ensure that homes, communities and businesses are receiving the best possible flood and coastal management for the challenges facing their area. At the same time flood and coastal projects will promote economic growth, social wellbeing and will seek to enhance levels of natural capital within the local community, making sure that each project brings long-lasting benefits for future generations.

Toby Willison, Environment Agency Executive Director of Operations: “Our ambitious new arrangements will help us to continue to deliver our £2.6 billion flood and coastal defence programme in a way which ensures that sustainability, efficiency and value for money remain at the very heart of the work we do to protect people, homes and the environment.”

Tom Brown, Jacobs Client Account Manager: “Our 25 year partnership in delivering flood risk management is about to go to the next level. Working closely together to create a new way of working will allow us to harness the potential of all our people and organisations to be successful.”

Championing sustainability Sustainability is at the heart of our new arrangements and capital delivery, which is a major drive for us as a whole. Our e:Mission plan sets out how we will continue to challenge ourselves and those involved in delivering our projects. This will not only reduce the direct negative impact on the environment but also look for opportunities to improve it.

A big part of this is reducing construction carbon and supply chain

14

The Environment Agency’sNext GenerationSupplier Arrangements

The new commercial model provides the perfect platform for the Environment Agency to meet its ambition to deliver flood and coastal risk management in an efficient and effective manner


Brian Francis, National Framework Manager, Environment Agency

carbon. By working with our partners to look at the supply chain we can ensure it isn’t transferring problems elsewhere.

We’ve ensured this by embedding sustainability into the new ways of working. We will:

n Develop whole-life low carbon solutions and work towards Government’s commitment to reduce 80% of Carbon emissions by 2050.

n Improve the management of benefits delivered to communities to meet our sustainability objectives expressed in our e:Mission plan and, in the future, the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

n Embed sustainability into how we design and deliver projects and benchmark this against industry best practice.

n Use CEEQUAL, an industry recognised scheme for assessing, rating and recognising sustainability performance across the whole of our programme.

Andrew Pearson, Jacobs CDF Framework Manager: “The CDF provides an opportunity for all of us to make a step change in the way infrastructure programmes are delivered. Our teams will be driving sustainable solutions, embracing a digital way of working and maximising our partnerships to deliver a cost effective and truly innovative programme. Importantly we can create a CDF culture that makes these exciting programmes for people to work in; inclusive, safe, creative, with aligned objectives and focussed on the outcomes we want to achieve to allow people to develop and benefit the communities we serve.”

Will McBain, UKIMEA Flood Resilience Leader, Ove Arup said: “The CDF means a huge amount to the Ove Arup team. Many of us joined the firm to make a difference - to do our bit to help local communities and the environment. Close collaboration with those who will benefit from, interact with, maintain and operate new infrastructure over its lifetime is so important to getting things right. NGSA provides a great framework for the development of the long-term relationships required to do this. We are confident that NGSA will leave a

legacy of which we can all be proud”.

The commercial benefitsNGSA was developed building on our knowledge of the Flood and Coastal Risk Management sector as well as learning from other leading public and private infrastructure providers. The new arrangements promote new ways of collaborative working with delivery

partners and local communities from the initial planning stages of a project right through to its completion.

Richard Neall, Jackson Framework Director: “The new approach is a hugely positive step, not just for flood and coastal risk management, but also for the construction industry as a whole. Working together with the EA and Ove ARUP as fully integrated, long-term delivery partners, we’ll be able to provide more sustainable construction solutions to better protect communities from flooding.”

NGSA will allow for greater efficiency, innovation and standardisation and align benchmarked costs, and priorities such as sustainability, safety, health, environment and wellbeing and incident management capabilities. Being better integrated means a closer relationship with other risk management authorities (RMAs), as well as our partners who design and deliver programmes of work.

Chris Allwork, Delivery Manager for the new Eastern Hub covering Thames and East Anglia: “I clearly remember the first time

I visited people who had been flooded. It had been a large fluvial event and the devastation and heartbreak I witnessed stays with me even now. That was 38 years ago. I have been very fortunate over the years working with the Environment Agency and its predecessors to have worked on projects that have significantly reduced flood risk to many thousands of people. The new collaborative delivery

model will provide the building blocks for continuing this work well into the future. It offers a more joined up slicker way to make better, quicker decisions, making that difference we all strive for.”

This way of working will support integrated catchment decision making benefiting the whole catchment, and wider water resources. Core to this style of working is collaboration, increased open and honest communication and shared ambition and outcomes.

Whilst the new ways of working will be collaborative, the business relationship will continue to maintain the right level of commercial tension ensuring the best value for money. The new commercial model provides the perfect platform for the Environment Agency to meet its ambition to deliver flood and coastal risk management in an efficient and effective manner.

Successful suppliersOur new CDF delivery partners are named in the table above. However, the procurement process for our specialist frameworks was not completed at time of printing. l

15

Figure 1: Environment Agency capital delivery hub and supplier geographies


North East HubLot 1: Ove Arup & Partners LtdLot 2: BAM Nuttall LtdNorth West HubLot 1: Jacobs UK LtdLot 2: VolkerStevin LtdMidlands HubLot 1: Ove Arup & Partners LtdLot 2: Jackson Civil Engineering Group LtdEastern HubLot 1: Jacobs UK LtdLot 2: BAM Nuttall LtdSouth West HubLot 1: Atkins LtdLot 2: Kier Integrated Services LtdSouth East HubLot 1: Jeremy Benn Associates Ltd Lot 2: VolkerStevin Ltd


Subject to the vagaries of Brexit, the England Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management Strategy

consultation is due to be launched in May. So what? It’s a small part of the 25 year Environment Plan and we have much more immediate things to worry about. However, I beg to differ.

People who have been flooded often say that until it had happened they had no concept of the impact of water on their lives. For many, it totally dominates the way that they live and whilst we are beginning to get evidence on health impacts, we still have not captured the effect on education, employment, wellbeing, life-chances and local economies. But most of all, flooding creates a sense of loss of control and a realistic fear that it will happen all over again.

An average of 15,000 homes a year are flooded, half of which have not been identified by insurers as being at significant flood risk (Association of British Insurers), the vast majority will include sewage. Whilst fantastic efforts are being made to better protect

people, the Treasury target is 300,000 homes in this programme period, there are still thousands of homes that flood regularly and will continue to do so.

As we all know, the problem is set to get worse; the Long Term Investment Scenarios, 2019 suggest that we need to plan for a 4°C temperature rise.

So, the case is that we need to be quite radical. As well as appropriate resources a change is required to how we manage these risks. Throughout the development of the Strategy the National Flood Forum has worked with many flood action groups around the country to solicit their views about what is needed, something we have continued to do in the last few months through a Lets’ Talk About Flooding programme of workshops, funded by Flood Re. There are some clear messages.

To plan for a 4oC temperature rise long term goals need to be put in place for 2050 and 2100. Examples include the statutory requirement, as part of the creation of Flood Re, for people to be able to access affordable, risk reflective residential property insurance by 2039, and the

Paul Cobbing, Chief Executive of the National Flood Forum, a national charity that supports and represents flood risk people and communities.

Impacts on people

Health impacts for those who have been flooded:• 20% suffer from depression• 28% suffer from anxiety• 36% affected by post-

traumatic stress disorder

• The impact of flooding is most acutely experienced in the most vulnerable neighbourhoods

• The most vulnerable neighbourhoods are significantly over-represented in areas prone to coastal flooding

Source: Impacts on flooding on people (Jacqui Cotton) and Flooding Resilience in Disadvantaged Areas (Environment Agency Briefing Note, 9 March 2017)

4035302520151050

Probable depression

Unaffected Flooded

Probable anxiety

Probable PTSD

where arewe heading?

Flood risk management


National Infrastructure Commission recommendation in their National Infrastructure Assessment 2018 “that government should set out a strategy to deliver a nationwide standard of resilience to flooding with an annual likelihood of 0.5 per cent by 2050 where this is feasible. A higher standard of 0.1 per cent should be provided for densely populated areas where the costs per household are lower.”

To achieve this would require a change from regarding flood risk as being the preserve of Risk Management Authorities to one that recognises that all sectors and organisations have an important role. There are obvious examples, such as the role of the legal profession in conveyancing where deeds should set out riparian responsibilities and the issues around flood risk much more clearly, but perhaps others are less obvious; schools and hospitals not only need to plan for flood risk to their assets, but also the travel disruption to staff, students and patients of flooding elsewhere.

This approach would also set the

tone for what has been described as a “social contract” between the state and society. Despite repeated annual campaigns to raise flood risk awareness the figures have remained stubbornly static. Endless exhortations that people must be educated to be more aware have fallen on deaf ears; hardly surprising when we consistently place the greatest burden on those who suffer most.

We all have a role in managing water;

we just need to make it much clearer what that can be. For some residents and businesses it will be retrofitting leaky water butts, greywater systems or permeable paving to hold water back and for others it will be taking resilience measures in their property, their community or catchment to reduce the impact of too much water. But where we are working with communities we must also change the way that

Do you believe your property is at risk of flooding?

Based on market research conducted with the at-risk public

100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%2010/11 2012/13 2014/152011/12 2013/14 2015/16 2016/17

Source: Environment Agency n Definitely at risk n Possibly at risk n Not at all at risk n No response

7

40

51

2

33

60

2

36

54

1

39

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62

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organisations engage. Phiala Mehring’s principles are a good starting point:n Engagement, partnership,

leadership. Communities should be able to play a leadership role

n As in your workplace, people in communities have different skills

n Involvement doesn’t mean clearing ditches alone. It includes:

n Galvanising communitiesn Building partnershipsn Innovationn It requires partners to work

with communities as equals. It must be participatory

n Partners should not use knowledge hierarchies that protect themselves and frustrate communities

This still all sounds rather random. How does all this connect to flooding and flood risk management? Flooding is a complex problem but how can we turn ambition in to reality? The Pitt Review in 2008 recommended that there should be strategic coordination of flood risk management in each area. The Flood and Water Management Act 2010 set up Lead Local Flood Authorities in Tier 1 Local Authorities, but only gave them operational coordination roles. The strategic role is still missing.

Strategic coordination should encompass all the roles of a local authority, but also include the work of Local Enterprise Partnerships, Public Health Boards, infrastructure and utility providers, transport agencies, planning, etc. There are lots of potential models; we should explore what they have to offer. But essentially, they need to address the following questions:n Where are properties at all levels

of risk? Note, all properties are at some level of risk

n What are the options for addressing this to meet our national goals?

n What is the plan?n How well are we doing?n How do we know?

And of course, we need an approach that is adaptive, taking the decisions today that will reduce the risks and costs tomorrow.

To make this work there are also a whole host of practical issues that flood action groups are calling for. The most

obvious and urgent is a serious review of the impacts of planning and development on peoples’ lives, as well as planning for the future. Of the 300 flood action groups affiliated to the National Flood Forum only one has said that it isn’t a top priority in their area. The National Flood Forum constantly hears from people who are worried about their future and their ability to sell their property and move on.

Complex roles and responsibilities make it difficult for people to engage with

Risk Management Authorities, resulting in buck passing and years of “nothing happening”. People should be able to access solutions much more easily.

Riparian management responsibilities need a radical overhaul, especially in urban areas where a watercourse or culvert may need coordinated management across many small boundaries and the costs of repair can be astronomical for a householder.

The benefit:cost process of allocating funding leaves thousands of people who will never qualify for a scheme or other measures. Many of these people flood repeatedly, but if they are in groups of 2-4 houses this is unlikely to change under the current system. We need answers.

Recent publications have recognised that flood defences are not the only solution. Property resilience and

natural flood risk management are increasingly recognised. But, there ought to be a raft of other measures that need to be front and centre of the toolkit, including highway maintenance, managing water through urban pathways, asset management, the incorporation of flood risk management opportunities in to all new infrastructure projects. In short, we need to manage each raindrop from wherever it falls all the way to the sea as

part of a holistic approach to managing water in times of plenty and shortage.

More particularly, we need to recognise that flood risk is sometimes a symptom of a bigger problem and treating flood risk is analogous to treating pollution with an end of pipe solution. Some communities are desperate for investment and regeneration, where managing water needs to be built in to the fabric of the project.

At the National Flood Forum we think there is a really big problem to solve, one that requires a step change in what we do and how we do it. We hope that you think so too and take the opportunity to respond to the consultation when it emerges. If you would like to help the National Flood Forum campaign for change, please sign up as a Friend of the National Flood Forum. l


T his year, 2019, marks 70 years since CIWEM’s Rivers and Coastal Group was first established.

Over the decades, our Members have been at the forefront of the changing tapestry of policy, legislation and research in the sector and have contributed greatly to CIWEM’s work. Our 70th anniversary comes at a significant time. As I write this article, Brexit has the potential to change the legislation and policy that governs our sector, climate protests and plastic pollution of rivers and the sea feature heavily in the media, and communities and habitats the length and breadth of the country are affected by funding challenges. The work of our Members from early careers through to distinguished professionals, is in the spotlight and remains as important as ever. It is the Committee’s priority to contribute to CIWEM’s influential work in this changing landscape to ensure the future sustainability of rivers and the coast. It is the aim of the Committee to promote excellence in our profession and ensure that the Rivers and Coastal Group provides opportunities for Members to collaborate, share best practice and

inspire innovation. Each year we convene a series of events including conferences, site visits, hack days and study weekends.One of my key aims during my tenure as Chair is to mark our 70th anniversary with an ambitious events programme. The Committee has developed an exciting series of events aimed at reaching out to all of our Members:n Our annual conference, to be

held in September, will focus on applying our learning from the past 70 years to the future of water environment management.

n Our annual Study Weekend is in June and is being taken off home shores to The Netherlands to promote international collaboration and knowledge sharing.

n We will be holding a series of local events in collaboration with each of CIWEM’s branches, showcasing innovative and exciting schemes and initiatives across the country.

2019 marks a year of celebration for the Rivers and Coastal Group and it is my aim to provide a platform for another 70 years of collaboration, innovation and best practice. l

Fay Bull BSc (Hons) MSc MCIWEM CWEM CSci is Chair of the CIWEM Rivers and Coastal Group and Regional Director for Water, AECOM

70 yearsof rivers and coasts


The need for Property Flood ResilienceWith 1 in 5 properties, five million people and over 300,000 businesses at risk of flooding in the UK, the need for affordable, reliable and robust flood risk management has never been greater. This, coupled with the changing climate leading to ever more concentrated intense storm events has driven a piece of work that has been progressing largely unseen for the last two years to create the standards needed to apply flood mitigation measures at property level.

The United Kingdom’s Agencies with strategic responsibility for flood mitigation measures (principally the Environment Agency in England, Natural Resources Wales, and Councils across Scotland) have made huge strides in recent years in the creation of flood mitigation infrastructure protecting millions of homes and businesses. But they are and always will be constrained by limited budgets to meet ever increasing needs in communities to provide adequate flood risk management meaning that

there will always be some properties remaining at risk of flooding no matter what infrastructure is put in place. Added to this is the ever increasing risk of pluvial flooding (local surface water inundation associated with intense localised storms) which can strike almost anywhere and for which major flood mitigation infrastructure is simply not practical.

Property Flood Resilience (PFR), applied in a ‘whole property’ context (i.e. addressing the whole fabric of the building to minimise water ingress),

A new Codeof Practice

Property Flood Resilience:


provides an affordable and effective first line of defence in mitigating against internal flooding of those properties that are not able to benefit from the protection offered by larger scale infrastructure. However up until now, the installation of such measures has been undertaken without the formal guidance needed to ensure quality of installation and ongoing maintenance. The specific PFR standards that do exist apply to the products themselves and not their installation, and the overall application of PFR measures is reliant upon standard building practices which may not always be effective in water inundation situations. Most importantly none of these approaches address the ability of individual measures to work together to provide the whole property protection that is needed.

As a result a formal Code of Practice is now being created that documents the correct standards and procedures and standards that are necessary to make a property flood resilient, enabling quicker reoccupation after a flood event and more affordable property insurance.

So, what is Property Flood Resilience?Property Flood Resilience embraces both the resistance to water ingress and resilience in terms of recoverability. Resistance takes the form of water resistant doors and windows, water-tight air bricks, and water proofing of the fabric of the building to minimise water ingress through walls, up through floors and drainage points within the building (often termed secondary flow pathways). Resilience and recoverability embodies the internal finishings of the property which may need to be either water resistant, or sacrificial (but easily replaceable) as it is almost impossible to keep all water out of a building under flood conditions. PFR may also include the provision of a sump pump within the building to quickly remove any water that does manage to enter the building during a flood event. Electrical fittings within the property may also need to be located higher up to prevent water ingress and the overall specification of the internal fit out of a PFR property will need to be well planned and specified to achieve the desired water resistance. All of these aspects are covered in detail in the new Code of Practice.

What are the advantages of PFR?Following a major flood event, the insurance industry has a huge part to play in helping owners and occupiers recover their losses and return to their property as soon as possible. But often it will take many months to dry a building out after a flood before any reconstruction can take place and by far the greatest

cost component of an insurance claim following a flood is the cost of providing temporary accommodation for the owners and occupiers whilst their property is rehabilitated. So the insurance industry has been very interested in the development of a PFR Code of Practice as, if PFR is applied well, it will mean that properties can be rehabilitated much more quickly – sometimes only a matter of days following a flood event, and the measures required to rehabilitate the property will be reduced thus greatly reducing the overall insurance bill.

However, it is the term ‘if applied well’ that currently undermines the effectiveness of, and trust in the implementation of PFR measures. In truth without any formal standards and procedures the effective application of PFR is something of a lottery and at the behest of the quality and abilities of those that claim to be able to install them. There are countless stories of rogue traders offering to fit flood barriers to properties after major storm events that have cost the owners thousands of pounds, only for them to be flooded again as soon

as the next big storm arises. It is little wonder therefore that up until now the insurance industry has been skeptical about the effectiveness of PFR measures and as a result insurance premiums for properties at risk of flooding remain hard to come by or unaffordable.

Flood Re has of course been much welcomed in providing affordable

insurance for properties at risk of flooding, but this measure is time limited and post 2037, the insurance of properties at risk of flooding will revert to market forces, and without suitable assurance, the insurance industry will have little choice but to revert to the high premiums that we see today.

The PFR Code of PracticeIn an effort to address this time-limitation on Flood Re and enable property owners in flood risk areas to have access to affordable insurance post 2037, in 2016 Defra launched a new initiative ‘The Property Flood Resilience Action Plan’ led by Peter Bonfield whist he was with BRE. At the same time three of the UK’s leading Professional Institutions, CIWEM, RICS and ICE began to address the challenges of property flooding and in 2017 formally offered to lead on the development of a new Code of Practice as part of the PFRAP initiative under Task Group 4 of the Plan. Funding was secured from primary sources including Aviva, the Environment Agency, the Scottish and Welsh Governments and

A new Codeof Practice


the Department for Infrastructure and a Steering Group formed to oversee the development and writing of the code. The principal objective was to “develop a robust and authoritative Code of Practice (CoP) and consolidated guidance that provides a standardised approach for the delivery and management of property flood resilience (PFR)”. The oversight of the professional institutions provides assurance of independence and the steering group drawing on over 50 Individuals and businesses from across flood mitigation and regulation ensures technical integrity and scrutiny.

The Code is now in its final stages of development and is being produced by CIRIA, authored by BRE, the University of West of England, the Environment Agency and Whitehouse Construction. It will be in four parts:

Part A: How to use the GuidancePart B: The Code of Practice: Six Standards 1) Hazard Assessment; 2) Property Survey; 3) Options Development; 4) Construction; 5) Commissioning and Handover; 6) Operation and MaintenancePart C: Guidance on the Code of PracticePart D: Supplementary Information

In addition there will be two further guides aimed at a) Local Authority Planners and b) Householders and Business which will essentially be less detailed and enable rapid assessment of needs without having to read all of the detail in the Code in the first instance.

The Code has been developed to take full cognisance of all of the literature that is available relating to PFR and to embrace the current standards that apply, specifically PAS1188 for flood protection products (currently in the process of being developed into a British Standard), as well as standard building construction industry practices.

The Code is designed to be followed in all circumstances where flood risk is prevalent, including retrofitting properties ahead of a flood event, recovering properties post flooding, and creating new-build properties that are flood resilient. It addresses flood resistance and recoverability specifically and the aspiration is that the Code will drive good practice in future, lead to the creation of new standards where

needed, for example the creation of new water resistant materials and also drive new practices such as property surveys and assessments.

When will the Code be available to use?The Code is in its final stages of scrutiny by the Steering Group and subject to final amendments will be launched by the Autumn of this year. It will be made freely available to download (with options to purchase a paper copy).

Every effort will be made to publicise the launch of the Code and to encourage as wide a take up as possible throughout the Industry. The PFRAP team is now charged with developing the marketing strategy for the Code and for creating other guidance tools such as visual guides (Youtube/Video), and demonstration sites across the Country. One such site is already available to see located at the BRE’s Watford Campus,

details of which can be found at https://www.bre.co.uk/floodhouse. Ultimately we hope to create an accreditation programme for UK properties at risk of flooding and embed this within the Insurance Industry’s assessment processes to underpin the ability of the insurance industry to provide affordable insurance for properties in areas of flood risk.

This initiative has been ground breaking in many ways bringing together Government, Industry and the Professional Institutions to address a

problem that affects millions of home overs in the UK and ultimately give them peace of mind that their homes are able to be flood resistant whilst retaining their market value. l

Alastair Moseley, Honorary Vice President of CIWEM and Chair of the Property Flood Resilience Action Plan Task Group 425th April 2019

One team, one goalClimate change demands an integrated approach to catchment management, to ensure flood, drought and water quality concerns are addressed together, not in isolation.

We bring together experts in flood and asset management, water resources and water quality to create teams focused on one goal: finding sustainable solutions to the challenges we all face, today and tomorrow.

Opening opportunities with connected thinking.

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In October 2018, the CCC published a new report entitled ‘Managing the coast in a changing climate’.

This work examined the potential long-term climate change impacts on coastal environments and communities, and analysed England’s policies for coastal management. The report highlighted a mismatch between the risks and the responses – the Committee concluded that England’s plans for long-term coastal management are not fit for purpose.

Some might question whether this assessment is fair. After all, there has been huge progress in protecting people from coastal flooding over the last 65 years. For example, compare the impact of the 1953 coastal storm surge, which resulted in the flooding of 28,000 homes and the deaths of 307 people, to the similar magnitude storm surge in December 2013 when not a single person lost their life as a direct result of the event and over 8 times fewer homes were flooded. This can be considered a huge achievement. Furthermore, the Shoreline Management Plans (SMPs) that identify sustainable, long-term futures for the entire coast of England and Wales were, at the time of publication, innovative, forward looking and, if implemented, would have significant benefits. So, what did the CCC identify as the biggest risks and problems, and why?

Understanding the scale of the problemThe impacts of sea level rise, a growing and ageing population, and a long history of coastal development, combined with existing assumptions about climate change and maintenance of existing defences, all point towards significant problems in the future. The number of people affected by coastal flooding, and the damage it does, will increase. At the same time, the potential scale of exposure to coastal erosion may be significantly underestimated: there is no national

data regarding current property losses to erosion; available models of future erosion rates have major gaps (complex cliffs aren’t included and there are no climate change scenarios driving the erosion); and there is no compensation available to people who have lost their homes. More generally, there is still a lot of work to do on understanding and minimising the mental health effects of flooding and erosion events.

The country also needs to decide what it is aiming for; what would good

Managing our coasts as the climate changes:

Dr Andy Russell, Senior Analyst at the Committee on Climate Change (CCC), looks at the big issues on England’s coast and summarises the recommendations from the CCC’s recent report: managing the coast in a changing climate.

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coastal adaptation look like? Ideally, the government would determine a tolerable level of risk and then develop pathways that reach those goals. The CCC recommended that Defra and MHCLG policy on the management of coastal flooding and erosion risk should specify long-term, evidence-based, quantified outcomes that have the buy-in of the affected communities and stakeholders.

Ambitions for coastal protection are not always cost effectiveIn the report, we investigated the cost effectiveness of the SMP policy decisions and identified ranges of coastline that would be unlikely to meet the funding criteria for the proposed action. In total, around 1,400 km of coast has a benefit-cost ratio of less than 2. Within that, around 150 km would be non-cost-beneficial yet has a “hold the line” (continue to protect with defences) SMP policy decision. As the SMPs are non-statutory, there is no guarantee that the policy decisions will be implemented and no funding is automatically allocated for those decisions. The CCC recommended that improved risk mapping is needed and a more complete analysis of the full costs and benefits of coastal management options to provide the evidence needed to make realistic plans that will be committed to.

Difficult decisions will be needed Understandably, people living on the coast more often than not prefer to retain the status quo, but building ever bigger defences to protect all coastal communities in the future would be prohibitively expensive. Fairbourne in Wales is a prime example where the economics do not suggest continued long-term protection with defences is feasible. The implication of the SMP policy decisions is that the village will be ‘decommissioned’ over the coming decades. The time and resources required to implement such a policy is significant and the approaches to best engage individuals and communities with such a large decision need to be researched further. This situation is unlikely to be unique so the Committee, therefore, recommended that local government and the Environment Agency need more resources for long-

term engagement communities at risk in England, and for more research regarding all aspects of these decisions.

Solutions need to be joined up across sectorsFlooding and coastal erosion are cross cutting issues that impact decisions across different areas of governance and on different spatial and temporal scales. The plans used by different bodies are not designed to interact. For example, ‘local plans’, which identify local authorities’ housing development priorities, have variable timescales (most of the 94 coastal local plans are ‘active’ up to between 2026 and 2036) and do not align spatially with the SMP areas. SMPs themselves have arbitrary policy decision points at 2025, 2055 and 2105. Furthermore, the National Adaptation Programme presents actions in consecutive 5-year windows whilst the current national Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCERM) Strategy has no active window defined. Aligning the ways in which decisions are made across sectors would help in making sure that we make rational decisions.

Implementing difficult decisionsIf processes are put in place to be able to make rational, evidence-based, long-term plans for our coasts, it is still questionable as to whether the right tools are in place to be able to implement those decisions. What is the mechanism to relocate, if that is decided as a best course of action? Where managed re-alignment is seen as the best approach, are the necessary data and tools to value the benefits of re-introducing natural processes

available? Are all the co-benefits of regeneration that could go alongside flood defences accounted for? The CCC recommended that a broader package of adaptation actions, including community engagement, asset relocation and compensation to move households where appropriate should be introduced. This should be addressed either by altering existing funding formulae or developing a new funding mechanism, which could, for instance, take inspiration from innovative green finance models or community development corporations. The economic case to support long-term funding should be determined not just by the protection of physical assets but should also incorporate environmental implications and social justice considerations.

The way forwardThe coastal impacts of climate change-induced sea level rise will happen in the lifetimes of people alive today, and will continue to increase for many years to affect future generations. The required response needs to be long-term and evidence-based with quantifiable outcomes that have the buy-in of affected communities and stakeholders. When we know what we’re aiming for, we can develop the plans to achieve those goals.

A solution is possible. There are opportunities in the near future to address this: whilst the 2018 National Adaptation Programme did not address the policy gaps set out above, there are still opportunities with the Agriculture and Environment Bills and the 2019 update of the Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management (FCERM) Strategy to address some of the issues and prepare for what is to come. l


2019FLOOD & COAST – THE ESSENTIAL EVENT FOR THE ENTIRE FCERM SECTORFlood & Coast is a three-day exhibition and extensive programme of workshops, presentations and panel debates. The conference, convened by the Environment Agency, aims to advance the debate about flood & coastal erosion

risk, resilience and response and provides a unique opportunity for a diverse range of organisations, sectors and communities to get together, think big and think differently.

The show also brings together technology & solutions specialists, sharing their expertise around best practice and new ways of working to

control the increasing risk of flood and rising sea levels around our coasts.

Since the launch of the show in 2016, the largest benefits have been in the partnerships and working relationships that have grown from coming together, to look at what we can learn, how to innovate and work together to make the difference we need to create a truly resilient nation.

SPOTLIGHT ON FLOOD & COAST 2019The 2019 Flood & Coast conference featured over 200 speakers. Developed by the Advisory Committee, a group of senior industry leaders and representatives from key stakeholder groups, the programme was shaped to link to the major themes of the consultation on the recently released draft national FCERM strategy.

DAY 1 THEME: A CLIMATE RESILIENT NATION: A SHARED VISION TO 2100Day one of Flood & Coast explored how we ensure our shared ambitions match the scale of the challenge and create resilient coastal and inland places. Key questions for the day included: what is the latest evidence saying? How do we best involve communities? How do we better understand risk and residual risk and the impact of wider social, political and economic changes? What are the pioneering projects that are doing things differently?

Plenary speakers included Sir James Bevan, Chief Executive of the Environment Agency; Professor Stephen Belcher, Chief Scientist, Met Office; and, Liv Garfield, Chief Executive, Severn Trent Water.

DAY 2 THEME: TODAY’S INFRASTRUCTURE RESILIENT IN TOMORROW’S CLIMATEDay two looked at the action we need to take to ensure the coastal and inland infrastructure people and places rely on is resilient in tomorrow’s climate. How do we put resilient infrastructure

FLOOD & COAST

It is a really crucial time for flooding and coastal erosion risk management. We are already seeing the effects of a changing climate with more extreme rainfall events, flash flooding and sea level rise. Floods can destroy lives, livelihoods and communities, but we know that by working together, we can do something about it!

That’s why Flood & Coast is so important. It creates the opportunity for different organisations, sectors and communities to get together and think big, learn, innovate and work together on all the things we can do, large or small, to build a truly resilient nation.

Mark Garratt, Deputy Director Business Implementation & Skills, Environment Agency

& Flood & Coast 2019 Advisory Committee Chair

Flood & Coast has become the authoritative conference and exhibition for the entire flood and coastal erosion risk management (FCERM) sector, held annually at the Telford International Centre.


2019

at the centre of supporting sustainable growth? How do we financially incentivise the right flood resilient infrastructure? How do we place water at the heart of all investment decisions?

Key speakers included Alison Baptiste CBE, Director Operations, Infrastructure and Projects Authority; Benjamin Clayton, Head of Strategy, Homes England; and, Natalia Moudrak, Director, Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation (Canada).

DAY 3 THEME: SHAPING THE FUTURE TODAY TOGETHER: NATIONS OF CLIMATE CHAMPIONSThe final day delved into the skills, tools and technologies needed to enhance and develop preparedness, awareness, communication and response. What does end-to-end integrated incident management look like? What is the role of ‘big data’ and AI in helping us deliver FCERM improvements? How can we encourage community leadership? How do we develop the

next generation and the skills needed in a rapidly changing world?

Key speakers included Dr Teresa Bridgeman, Chair, West Somerset Flood Group; Harriet Green, Chief Digital Officer, Defra; and, Emma Greenwood, Youth MP for Bury.

Find out more: for full details of the Flood and Coast 2019 programme go to: www.floodandcoast.com

Flood & Coast 2019 was sponsored by

EXHIBITION TO LEARN AND SHARE IDEASFlood & Coast’s exhibition has a central and crucial role as an industry showcase, meeting place and networking space.

With 70 exhibitors from across all FCERM industry sectors, the exhibition is invaluable for discovering the latest innovations, sourcing new products and benchmarking current suppliers.

The Flood & Coast exhibition consistently receives positive feedback:

• “Flood & Coast delivered again! Great show, very happy to meet existing contacts and make lots of new ones. The IBS brand is growing and this event helps us along the way.” Ray Moulds, Managing Director, IBS Engineering Products

• “For anyone who wants to keep up with what is happening in the field of flooding – and indeed in the flooded field – Flood & Coast is THE flooding event to attend.” Britt Warg, UK Manager, Geodesign Barriers

• “Excellent platform for us to promote our science research into flood management. Great range of stakeholders - all the right people you want to meet and network with.” Hannah Lacey, Events & Public Engagement Coordinator, Centre for Ecology & Hydrology

Flood & Coast will return in 2020 – please visit www.floodandcoast.com for dates and further details.

REWARDING EXCELLENCEA highlight at Flood & Coast is the Environment Agency’s Project Excellence Awards. Winners and shortlisted projects were celebrated at the Flood & Coast dinner on Wednesday 19th June, sponsored by Black & Veatch and Capita. The evening’s guest speaker was BBC Coast’s Nick Crane.

The 2019 awards identified and recognised best practice in:

• Programme and project delivery

• Community partnership

• Excellent asset management

• Innovative approaches

• Sustainability

• Building climate adaptation

& resilience

• International excellence

• Inspirational role model

• Rising star

New categories for 2019:

Building climate adaptation & resilience

This category recognises projects that showcase resilience to the impact of extreme weather and climate change on people, properties and business.

Inspirational role model

This award is to recognise an individual who through their actions and achievements has inspired their peers.

Rising Star

This award recognises individuals, in the FCERM sector, who are within the first 5 years of their career who have taken a key role in contributing to any of the wider categories above.

To find out more about the 2019 Project Excellence Awards please visit www.floodandcoast.com.

What If?What if we showed you how we’re solving the world’s greatest climate challenges by transforming intangible ideas into intelligent solutions for a more resilient andsustainable world?

At Jacobs, we think differently about flood risk management.

#WhatIfjacobs.com/whatifFollow us @JacobsConnects

flooding - ciwem...julie foley, our fcerm strategy director at the environment agency, said: “we...

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