A ‘clear, co-ordinating framework’ is needed to deal with flood risk from drains and sewers, the Environment Agency has recommended, in its comprehensive review of the summer’s floods.

Two-thirds of the properties flooded in the summer resulted from overwhelmed drains and sewers, yet there had not been enough attention on managing surface water flooding in a co-ordinated way, the EA warned.

It envisaged a future framework in which the EA took on a strategic overview role in England, with local authorities having the main responsibility for surface water planning and management – although with duties on others such as the Highways Agency, water companies and other infrastructure providers. It also rued the lack of a specific warning service for surface water flooding.

‘Warnings for surface water flooding to individual homes and properties are likely to be technically challenging and costly, but we should examine whether broader-scale warnings about severe weather can be provided,’ it said. It urged the Government to review if flood risk protection standards for inland, coastal and surface water flooding were still appropriate, in view of climate change. It also called for a policy on deploying temporary flood defences, which were unable to be installed in time at Upton-upon-Severn and Worcester because of severe flooding on the roads.

Chief executive, Barbara Young, said: ‘Three of the most important challenges are getting clarity on who does what to reduce risks from urban surface water flooding, protecting critical infrastructure, and securing a long-term investment strategy.’ The extreme flooding showed just how poorly protected much of the country’s public infrastructure was, she added.

http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/subjects/flood/ 1867303/