A key national flood data source hosted by the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology has been estimated to deliver more than £5 million per annum net benefit to the UK flood risk assessments sector.

The National River Flow Archive’s (NRFA) Peak Flow database is calculated to provide net economic benefits of almost £5.4 million per year in terms of costs saved by environmental consultants and regulators, according to a new report. Over a 25-year term, it equates to a net present value of £95 million, according to the report author, Richard Blackmore of Research Impact Consulting.

“Up-to-date, accurate records of peak river flow are vital for developing understanding of flood events and improving the ability of regulators and the private sector to predict, manage and mitigate their impact,” explained Dr Harry Dixon, Head of the NRFA.

“The NRFA data underpin the full spectrum of flood risk activities from national strategic mapping through to flood risk assessments conducted when planning new housing or commercial developments.” he added.

Peak flow data were integrated into the NRFA – hosted by the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology – in April 2014. The move means that, for the first time since the national collation of hydrometric data was initiated in 1934, a single source of UK-wide data is available to support water resources and flood risk management.

The NRFA Peak Flow Database is a key flood data source used for flood risk strategy and planning activities by regulators and environmental consultants.  The report puts the net economic benefits of the database more than £5 million per year to regulators and consultants As the findings relate to just a small part of the database’s uses in flood risk assessments, the calculated value represents only a fraction of the national archive’s wider economic impact.

NRFA data are used in a number of areas of UK water management, including water resources assessment, national situation monitoring and freshwater science.

Dr Dixon continued:

“The report highlights a significant economic contribution by the NRFA to the local flood risk sector. The analysis demonstrates that the entire cost of maintaining the NRFA Peak Flow Database on an annual cycle is easily covered by the benefits of its use by consultants and regulators in preparing and assessing detailed flood risk assessments alone.”

Click here to access the full report and Briefing Note.