WET News

DECEMBER 2016 WET NEWS 7 News+ Report 'a missed opportunity' • EFRA's report on preventing flooding in the future has been described as encouraging but there are concerns that groundwater must play more of a central role in resilience planning. Maureen Gaines reports. F lood management looks set to move up the water and sewerage companies' agendas as a new report calls for them to be given a greater role, and for an extension to their remits to cover local drainage. The call has come from House of Commons committee EFRA (Environment, Food and Rural Affairs), which has published its wide-ranging report on Future Flood Prevention. The report includes a number of recommendations as EFRA describes current flood risk management structures as being "fragmented, inefficient and ineffective". The report states: "…although there are many examples of successful local partnerships, current arrangements do not encourage widespread use of catchment scale approaches." EFRA says some five million people in England are at risk of flooding. Last winter broke rainfall records as storms Desmond, Eva and Frank disrupted communities across northern parts of the UK. Storm Desmond alone, according to KPMG, cost the UK more than £5bn. More frequent, more intense storms resulting from climate change will in future put more people at risk and increase flood impacts. The government has increased budgets for flood risk management, but this level of funding is unlikely to deliver sufficient protection in future decades. The committee said the government must publish by the end of 2017 its 25-year ambition for flood risk reduction, and the cost of securing this, against different climate change scenarios. The committee, in its report, is proposing a new governance model that the government must consider as part of a root and branch review of how it manages England's flood risk. The model gives "a strong focus to joined-up, efficient action" to improve flood protectionby: • Establishing a new National  Floods Commissioner for England, to be accountable for delivery of strategic, long-term flood risk reduction outcomes agreed with government • Adopting  catchment  measures on a much wider scale • Simplifying  flood  risk  communications The report recommendations include the water and sewerage companies fostering a more holistic approach to flooding and water supply management. It proposes they take on the land drainage responsibilities currently held by local authorities, and become "water and drainage companies". Water company regulation would remain with Ofwat but the Floods Commissioner would agree a forward programme of measures with the regulator as part of the five-year business planning process. Water and drainage companies would become statutory consultees for new development as well as potentially taking on the role of SuDS (Sustainable Urban Drainage System) adopting authority. EFRA has also stated that the government must set out how its review of sustainable drainage regulations will ensure that SuDS are deployed to maximum effect in all new English developments. South West Water – its managing director, Stephen Bird, gave evidence to the committee – says it is "particularly supportive of the recommendations" to make water companies statutory consultees for planning applications. Bird says: "This would mean that water companies can support the delivery of sustainable drainage systems as part of any new development plans, moving away from the current system where developers have the right to connect surface water to a sewerage system despite flooding risks. "These steps would enhance the resilience of key infrastructure and reduce the risk of flooding in the communities we serve." GeoSmart's managing director, Stuart Pearce, has welcomed the call for water and sewerage companies to take on greater adoption of SuDS and to become statutory planning consultees. "This should mean greater clarity on responsibility and make it easier for solicitors, and property buyers to check who is responsible as part of the conveyancing process," he says. Pearce has also welcomed the call for greater mandation of SuDS and the end to the automatic right to connect surface water run off to a mains sewer. "This, together with requirements for developers to comply with planning conditions, means that detailed and effective site drainage and flood risk suitability should now be automatic for every development." However, Pearce says the report "is again a missed opportunity" when it comes to better understanding about the role of groundwater flooding: "Groundwater has provided the background signature to many recent severe flood incidents. The report recommends the development of a single publicly available map on flooding from all sources." He believes groundwater must play a more central role in not just flood risk modelling, but also resilience planning and response, given its impact on critical infrastructure. The Association of Drainage Authorities (ADA) says the ideas contained in the report must be used to "challenge England's water and flood risk management industry to find better solutions to how we address the significant risks to "It is time that we took a long-term approach to investment in our rivers, coasts and drainage systems and their ongoing maintenance. The only way to achieve this is by increasing routine investment administered at a local level" Henry Cator, ADA people, our economy and environment from flood and drought". And it warns that some of the governance changes suggested need very careful consideration to avoid the risks of additional red tape and reduction in parliamentary accountability. Whilst ADA supports the need for change, it says are many opportunities to execute those changes effectively from within the existing structures, maximising the skills and resources available for future water resource and flood risk management. Innes Thomson, ADA's chief executive, comments: "Along with the government's National  Flood Resilience Report published in September, EFRA's recommendations are another clear steer that England needs to make some improvements to the way we manage water. Catchment management and effective local decision-making and delivery are very much at the heart of those changes we need to embrace." ADA's chairman Henry Cator concludes: "It is time that we took a long-term approach to investment in our rivers, coasts and drainage systems and their ongoing maintenance. The only way to achieve this is by increasing routine investment administered at a local level." KPMG estimates that Storm Desmond alone cost the UK more than £5bn

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