CIWEM welcomes Flood Bill
Posted: Tuesday 12th May 2009
Since the Pitt Review of the flooding of summer 2007 and the publication of the Government’s Future Water strategy, there has been a great deal of focus on how to manage both flood risk and water in a more integrated way. This is positive and CIWEM hopes that the Floods and Water Bill will herald an era of improved clarity of responsibility and a more holistic approach to the way water is managed.
In this context, CIWEM supports the Environment Agency’s Strategic Overview role for all sources of flooding. CIWEM also wishes to see statutory requirements for all parties with responsibility for flood management to cooperate and share data more effectively.
It is essential that the Draft Bill recognises the importance of managing surface water more effectively. Development and climate change are placing increasing pressures on water resources and the underlying theme of the Bill must be to manage water in a way which slows its progress from the top of catchments to the sea – providing greater opportunity for its use as a resource and reducing rapid runoff which results in flooding. CIWEM therefore supports the requirement for production of Surface Water Management Plans, the cancellation of the automatic right of new developments to connect their surface water drainage to sewers and the clarification of responsibilities relating to sustainable drainage systems (SuDS).
Nick Reeves, CIWEM’s Executive Director said: “CIWEM is pleased that the Government is putting forward a major new piece of legislation to clear up the fragmentation of responsibilities that has existed for too long in the field of flood risk management. This Bill should help to ensure that we manage water in a way which better respects the water cycle, that reflects our close relationship with water, and that means we nurture it more carefully as a resource and manage it better to minimise the risks it can present. There must be no back-sliding on dealing with the threat of flooding which costs lives and harms economic activity.”
