Staffordshire County Council has commissioned coastal and rivers expert Royal Haskoning to help it prepare its Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment (PFRA).

All Lead Local Flood Authorities are required to submit their PFRAs to the Environment Agency for review before the Flood Risk Regulation 2009 stage one deadline on 22 June 2011. This is a vital requirement of the Flood Risk Regulations 2009, which implement the EU Floods Directive in England and Wales.

Staffordshire County Council’s Flood Risk Manager, Matt Bulzacchelli, said:

“Royal Haskoning is helping us prepare our PFRA. This involves identifying flood risk areas by producing preliminary assessment maps and reports on past and possible future flooding. Royal Haskoning is currently preparing Surface Water Management plans for five settlements within the county. Their current knowledge of the Staffordshire area, coupled with their flood risk management expertise, means they are best placed to work with us to ensure we meet the Council’s own scrutiny deadline in March. This places us in a good position for early submission of a robust Preliminary Flood Risk Assessment to the Environment Agency for review - well before the June deadline”.

Granville Davies, Principal Engineer and Royal Haskoning’s flood risk expert, commented:

“We are delighted Staffordshire County Council has chosen us to carry out this important assessment. The SWMP preparations we are currently carrying out dovetails with the Council’s PFRA preparations - as SWMP work involves establishing partnerships and preparing detailed flood risk assessments. We are working as part of the Council’s own dedicated team to achieve this critical deadline.”

With less than five months until the PFRA deadline Royal Haskoning is urging other Councils and Lead Local Flood Authorities to follow Staffordshire County Council’s lead and take action now.

“The preparation of a PFRA can be a lengthy task as it involves the collation and recording of all reported incidents of flooding gathered from water companies, Local Authorities, the Highways Agency, British Waterways and parish councils,” Davies continued.

“It is important the Lead Local Flood Authorities start work now to prepare their PFRAs and not leave it too late to start collating and recording all the historical flood information required.”

“The flood regulations stipulate that in addition to submitting the PFRA, authorities must be able to demonstrate they understand the data and can determine which areas represent a flood risk - so it’s import to have guidance and expertise close at hand to meet this specific requirement.”

While the regulations do not require PFRAs to include data relating to flooding from reservoirs and rivers, it does include flooding that has occurred from canals.

Once the Environment Agency has reviewed all UK preliminary flood risk assessments, they will be submitted to the European Commission.

There are two further critical stages to compliance with Flood Risk Regulations 2009. These include the production of flood hazard and flood risk maps by June 2013. Plans stating objectives to reduce the likelihood and consequence of flooding, and measures to prevent flooding, protect people and environment must be submitted by June 2015.