Surface water flooding   |   Study

Reducing the risk of surface water flooding

The final report of the Commission's study says action is needed to prevent more properties across England becoming at high risk of this type of flooding.

Tagged: Water & Floods

Foreword

The challenges of tackling river pollution and addressing water supply shortages have dominated public discussion about the water sector in recent months – but we risk ignoring a problem that can literally drop out of the sky at any moment.

As the climate changes, heavy rainstorms are happening more often. Sudden deluges can overwhelm drainage, leading to ‘surface water flooding’. Londoners will recall the scenes in July 2021, when parts of the city received more than twice the average monthly rainfall in just two hours; more recently parts of Leicestershire and the Isle of Wight were hit by similar incidents.

Surface water flooding is a potential risk to many homes and businesses in England. Currently around 325,000 properties are in areas at the highest risk – meaning there is a more than 60 per cent chance they will flood in the next 30 years. Without action, up to 295,000 more properties could be put at risk.

Whatever the figures, such modelling masks the human cost of floods. The impact of a sudden flooding incident on health, livelihoods and wellbeing for affected residents and businesses can be profound. And if you’re in that situation, you don’t really care where the water has come from – you just want it to stop.

Surface water flooding is the flood risk we know the least about. It is highly localised, and hard to predict. A highly local problem needs local solutions.

This report sets out how we can better identify the places most at risk and reduce the number of properties at risk there. This will mean devolving funding to local areas at the highest risk, and supporting them to make long term strategies to meet local targets for risk reduction.

At a national level, there is a need for the Environment Agency to expand its strategic oversight role in relation to surface water flooding. It will also be vital that Ofwat enables water and sewerage companies – who own and operate underground drainage on which we will rely – to invest in solutions to address surface water flooding, including nature based drainage systems. This will require them to work closely with local authorities to protect the people in the areas they serve.

Such an approach also depends on reducing the amount of water that enters drains in the first place, as well as building new infrastructure to increase future drainage capacity. Our report sets out recommendations in each of these areas.

We should not let surface water flooding continue as a stealth threat. We have the means to address it – what’s largely required is impetus for a range of bodies to act, and better coordination between them. Our hope is this report helps provide such an impetus, and a long term framework to help the country weather the coming storms.

Jim Hall Commissioner

Sadie Morgan Commissioner

Julia Prescot Commissioner

Car driving through floodwater

Status:  Completed

Surface water flooding

A study on effective approaches to the management of surface water flooding in England.

View the study

Latest Updates

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A car splashes through a flooded Farringdon Lane in central London after a day of heavy rain.

Government response on surface water flooding risk “does not meet scale of challenge”

The government has today (13 March 2024) responded to the Commission’s study on reducing the risks of surface water flooding, published in November 2022. While it accepts the principles behind a number of the Commission’s recommendations, the government’s response – in the Commission’s view – makes few new commitments on steps to manage surface water...

13 Mar 2024 By
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Flooded bridge

Hall: Measurable approach to flood risk “essential”

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17 Jan 2024 By
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The government has today (10 January 2023) announced its intention to implement Schedule 3 of the Flood and Water Management Act in England (subject to consultation). This shift in policy will make sustainable drainage solutions the default for almost all new developments in England, and make the right to connect surface water runoff to public...

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