UK government publishes draft Flood and Water Management Bill

The draft UK Flood and Water Management Bill, designed to improve how the country prepares for and responds to flood emergencies and to better protect water supplies during drought, has been published for public consultation by Environment Secretary Hilary Benn.

The aims of the draft Bill are to:
* Reduce the likelihood and impacts of flooding;
* Improve the ability to manage the risk of flooding, by clarifying who is responsible for what;
* Improve water quality;
* Give water companies better powers to conserve water during drought;
* Reduce red tape and other burdens on water and sewerage companies; and
* Improve the overall efficiency and management of the industry; and
* Reduce pollution and improve water quality.

Mr Benn said: "The terrible effects of the 2007 floods are still fresh in our minds, and climate change will only increase the threat of extreme weather in the future. We can't stop rain falling from the sky, or make it rain during droughts, but we can be better prepared.

"That's why we are publishing this draft Bill, which will help us better protect the public by clearly defining the roles and responsibilities of everyone involved in flood risk management. The Bill is about changing the law where we need to.”

As well as improving the management of flood risk by clearly defining roles and responsibilities for those involved in flood risk management, the draft Bill also includes measure to better protect the supply of water during drought.

Parts of England are already water stressed and the impacts of both climate change and a rising population will increase demands for more, or better, water and sewerage infrastructure, and mean that the management of water as a precious resource must be improved.

Proposals in the draft Bill set out how the water industry will be managed better to be able to cope with these challenges and provide a better service to households and businesses.

Publication of the draft Flood and Water Management Bill follows the Government response to Sir Michael Pitt's review of the floods in Summer 2007. In its response the Government undertook to act on all 92 recommendations of that Review.

The draft Flood and Water Management Bill consultation documents can be found here. The consultation will be open until 24 July.

On the same day as the draft Flood and Water Management Bill was published, the new joint Environment Agency and Met Office Flood Forecasting Centre for England and Wales was officially opened. The Flood Forecasting Centre (FFC) has been created to forecast river and coastal flooding as well as extreme rainfall which may lead to flooding from surface water. It will help provide earlier warnings of floods to local authorities and the emergency services, to give them more time to prepare for floods and reduce the risk of loss of life and damage to property.

The new service will complement existing public flood warning arrangements from the Environment Agency and public weather warnings from the Met Office.

The new £10.4 million centre is operational 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and is based in Farringdon, London. It is funded by DEFRA (£5m), the Environment Agency (£4.9m), Welsh Assembly Government (£250,000) and the Met Office (£76,000) and employs a team totalling 26, including hydrologists, weather forecasters and support staff. The £10.4m refers to spending between October 2008 and March 2011 and includes the set up, operational costs and the delivery of the development program.

•Date:23rd April 2009• Region: UK •Type: Article •Topic: DR general
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