Natural solutions to flood management
Posted: Wednesday 13th May 2009
Natural England welcomes publication of Draft Floods and Water Bill.
Conventional methods of managing floods and coastal erosion may no longer be adequate or sustainable in the face of climate change, said Natural England in response to the publication of the Government’s Draft Floods and Water Bill.
Helen Phillips, Chief Executive of Natural England, said: “This Bill must ensure that our natural environment plays a pivotal role in flood management. If we increase its capacity to retain more water it will play a greater role in reducing flooding and consequently our reliance on miles of costly concrete and earth embankments.
“The scope of flood management in the Bill needs to embrace natural solutions. Working with others we can start to make positive changes through measures such as restoring upland peatlands and river channels, increasing floodplain wetlands and allowing re-alignment of the coast. There is much to gain for people, countryside and wildlife if we get it right.”
Natural England welcomed recommendations made by the Pitt review, published last year, that the way rural land is managed can reduce rural and urban flooding at the local level and that the Environment Agency and Natural England should work together to deliver more schemes that work with natural processes. As a contribution to this, we are developing a delivery framework for integrating land management, wildlife habitats and flood management.
Natural England also supports the introduction of a water efficiency commitment for domestic use outlined within the Draft Bill. However, Natural England has raised its concerns that water efficiency should be a statutory target – not just a commitment – and all water users should be included, not just homeowners.
