Jon Robinson, Director – Water at global built environment consultancy AECOM takes an expert view of the Government’s National Flood Resilience Review and says a more holistic approach that brings together multiple stakeholders working across entire catchments is needed, together with innovative thinking to protect communities, businesses and vital infrastructure from future flooding, 

Jon Robinson: Last month’s publication of the National Flood Resilience Review is welcome recognition that extreme and rare events could become more frequent due to the changing climate. It rightly advocates a strategic, long-term view of flood risk management, paving the way for new and different approaches to help strengthen the country’s resilience to severe flooding in the future.

Given the widespread flooding in the north of England last winter, the new and integrated approaches to flood risk management outlined in the Review could be key to protecting communities from similarly devastating future events.

Catchment-wide flood risk management can only be achieved through greater integration

Mitigating the impact of climate change and tackling the growing risk of flooding will certainly require new ways of thinking. A more holistic approach that brings together multiple stakeholders working across entire catchments is needed. The Review supports such an approach, indicating that the government’s upcoming 25-year plan for the environment will manage whole river catchments intelligently, developing sophisticated modelling to work out what can be done in each part of a catchment to minimise flooding.

But catchment-wide flood risk management can only be achieved through greater integration between government agencies, local authorities, water companies, communities and private landowners. Working together more closely is vital for innovative and cost-effective flood risk management. While this type of approach can be complex, it also opens up opportunities to work with nature to better manage water and help make traditional flood defences more resilient in the long term.

Natural flood management can play important role in building resilience to flooding

Looking at natural flood risk management measures that use natural processes to store or slow down water before it reaches communities and help relieve pressure on downstream defences can be a key part of an integrated flood risk management approach. From planting woodland to help soak up rainfall to increasing wetland areas by realigning engineered defences and re-introducing meanders into a river to slow the flow of water, natural measures can complement the hard defences that are already in place.

There are also additional, wider benefits of natural flood risk management. The provision of new wetlands and woodlands, for example, can regulate local climate. Recognising and valuing the ecosystem benefits, or ‘ecosystem services’, of natural flood risk management measures allows flood risk managers to identify the options that will generate these types of additional benefits, as well as the value they will add to communities.

The Review recognises the important role that natural flood management can play in building resilience to flooding, again highlighting the 25-year plan that will look at strengthening the role of local partners to integrate flood management at a catchment level. Under this approach, catchment leaders will coordinate planning and take an integrated approach to the environment, valuing natural flood management interventions as part of natural capital accounting.

Delivering a catchment-wide approach will be challenging and funding must also increase in real terms 

Of course natural flood risk management is only part of the solution. Every catchment is different and a mix of measures will likely be needed, including both hard and soft engineered methods. While the Review is right to advocate a strategic approach to flood management, delivering a catchment-wide approach will be challenging and funding must also increase in real terms in recognition of its importance.

The Review highlights the government’s six-year capital investment programme for flood defences, which it claims has already provided greater certainty around funding since it was introduced in 2015/16. While the programme should help address the stop-start approach to funding that has slowed the delivery of flood defences in the past, it must not be back-end loaded with the majority of construction happening in years five and six. Design, maintenance and construction must be a continuous process.

Thinking big about delivery, in terms of both timescale and size, could help attract key private sector investors to the market 

But given the scale of the challenge, attracting private sector funding will also be required. Clear delivery routes organised over the longer term will be key to encouraging developers, contractors and other private sector businesses to invest in major packages of flood defence work. Thinking big about delivery, in terms of both timescale and size, could help attract key private sector investors to the market and accelerate the delivery of much-needed schemes.

Recognising that catchment-wide flood risk management will not deliver flood risk reductions overnight, the Review also outlines more immediate steps to help strengthen resilience to events that could occur this year. It includes a commitment to a cross-sector approach to protecting critical infrastructure. With extreme flooding events like those experienced last winter only likely to become more frequent, safeguarding vital utilities infrastructure must remain a priority. The government’s plan to work with utilities companies and regulators to develop and implement temporary improvements to the resilience of water and telecoms infrastructure by Christmas is therefore key. In line with similar plans already available in the electricity supply industry, these measures could help ensure a vital and secure supply of services for communities in need this coming winter.

Review makes crucial link between flood management, resilient infrastructure and urban generation

Crucially, the Review makes the link between flood management, resilient infrastructure and urban generation. It is vital the opportunities to create social and economic value from improved flood management are maximised. It is therefore encouraging that the Review outlines how government will look to assess the next round of flood defence investment in core cities based on evidence and links to other drivers, bringing together flood defences, aesthetic improvement and urban development to make cities more beautiful. The aim is to encourage cities to adopt the principles of building resilience into the design of new developments and regeneration in order to generate additional value from flood defences.

To help support this initiative, the government has set up a group of senior business leaders and experts from companies, including AECOM, as well as from the flooding and water industry, and the finance and technology sectors, to explore innovative flood risk management solutions in core cities across England. The group will draw on international experience of creating significant economic value through flood defence schemes, such as the Netherlands.

The Review has taken lessons learnt from last winter’s floods to pave the way for a new approach to flood risk management. Given the extreme and unpredictable nature of flooding in the UK today, building short-term resilience to future flooding must be a clear priority. But taking a strategic, catchment-wide approach is just as important to tackle flooding in the longer term.

Innovative thinking is needed to protect communities, businesses and vital infrastructure from future flooding, with multiple stakeholders working together to manage water and flood risk over entire catchments. Greater collaboration is therefore key to achieving fully integrated, cost-effective and innovative flood risk management.