Flooding
Parts of the North East have a history of serious flooding. Improvements need to be made, but there are a
number of issues holding back an overall reduction in the region’s risk of flooding: lack of funding, lack of
available design resources due to a skills shortage, and legislation that does not go far enough to coordinate
and govern a regional solution.
Ullswater Gardens, South Shields
Both the North East and the UK as a whole need
to address flood risk in order to reduce damage
to property and danger to life, in addition to
improving quality of life for many people who
live in areas under threat of flooding. Although
the North East is not the worst region in the
UK in terms of flooding problems, there are a
number of high profile flood alleviation schemes.
In addition, the region is a world leader in using
detailed analytical techniques to develop climate
change strategies.
North East - flooding problems in
the region
It is estimated from the Environment Agency’s
(EA) Catchment Flood Management Plan
and from Northumbrian Water information
that more than 50,000 people in the North
East region are at 1% risk of flooding per
annum from sources such as rivers, sewers,
groundwater and surface water.
Although it is getting worse, flooding is not
a new phenomenon. Historically the North
East has seen a number of large river flooding
events in towns such as Morpeth, Bishop
Auckland, Rothbury, Gosforth and Hexham.
Morpeth was in the news in September 2008
when over 1,000 properties were inundated
with water, and has suffered a number of
major flooding events in the past, especially
in 1963 and 1968. Elsewhere in the region,
Barnard Castle flooded relatively frequently
until Cow Green reservoir was constructed in
the late 1960s to control flows in the upper
Tees Valley.
Due to a recent escalation in the number of
intense summer storms, there has been a large
increase in flooding from public sewers since
the summer of 2005. In the period 2005 to
2008, Northumbrian Water estimates that just
over 2,500 properties in the region suffered
internal flooding from sewage that escaped
from the public sewerage system.
A number of flood relief schemes have been
constructed by the Environment Agency,
Northumbrian Water and local authorities in
recent years. These organisations estimate
that their overall investment will exceed £100m
for the period 2005-2010. In addition to this
investment, organisations have been working
together with Department for Environment,
Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) on two large
studies at Hartlepool and North Ouseburn
in Newcastle. These two schemes are pilot
studies to determine how different bodies
can work together in order to gain a greater
understanding of the complex issue of floods.
Causes of flooding
The recent flooding in the North East highlights
some of the problems faced by thousands of
homes and businesses across the UK in areas
at risk of flooding.
The main cause of flooding in the region is
river and coastal water. Information on flood
risk from these sources can be found on the
Environment Agency website in the form of
flood risk maps. These show the statistical
likelihood of flooding, but do not give any
information about speed of flooding or flood
routes, etc. A number of river catchments in
the North East have very short lead-in times
or “flashy” catchments e.g. Morpeth and
Hexham, where the time between heavy rain
starting and the water levels rising significantly
is only a couple of hours.
Flooding to homes and other properties due
to rising groundwater levels, or overland flows
caused by topography or inadequate surface
water management can be equally devastating.
In addition to storm water, sewer flooding
is exacerbated by overloading due to
overdevelopment and paving over permeable
areas, for example turning grassed front
gardens to hard surfaced driveways. A
nationwide study undertaken by the Royal
Horticultural Society in 2006 found that almost
a quarter of front gardens in the North-East of
England are now completely paved, with 47%
of front gardens being more than 75% paved
with impermeable materials. This encourages
large volumes of rainwater to enter drainage
networks more rapidly. Although new planning
regulations now require permission for new
impermeable areas or driveways over 5m²,
Newcastle Town Moor from the A189 Grandstand Road
generally there is weak legislation to manage
surface water drainage.
Sewer maintenance as a cause is also
underestimated. Although the latest Ofwat
assessment of sewer serviceability remains
at “stable” for both infrastructure and noninfrastructure
in the North East, property owners
are currently responsible for maintenance of the
sewers within their own boundary.
Properties are still being developed in areas at
risk of flooding, therefore flood risk must be
considered at the earliest stages of a scheme
so that it can be reduced by planning and
design. Planning Policy Statement 25 (PPS25),
the government’s policy on development and
flood risk, is meant to help direct development
away from areas at high risk of flooding.
Conversely, the government announced its
support earlier this year for continuing to allow
increased house building in flood hazard areas
on economic grounds.
Raising awareness
A more integrated approach to flood risk
management is required where engineers
can link openly, comfortably and directly with
communities under threat. People should be
given the ‘real story’ - that it will never be
possible to protect everything. Engineers must
better explain what risk means, and that the
possibility of flooding exists every day, not just
once every sixty or a hundred years. The positive
news is that it is certainly possible to lower the
risk of flooding significantly, and to reduce the
impact of any flooding that does occur.
Sharing information
A lot has already been achieved by the
numerous (maybe too numerous) organisations
with responsibility for dealing with flooding to
engage and inform the public. Many initiatives
including multi-agency emergency plans, public
resilience/resistance coaching, and mitigation
advice exist. Emergency and maintenance
plans should be shared with the public more
visibly. If access to this information was
improved, people would be better equipped
to make informed decisions about their own
lives. Communities must emerge from this
engagement process educated, strong and
ready to take positive action.
The engineer’s role
Equipped with knowledge, skills and
expertise civil engineers are at the heart of
this engagement process. However, there are
technical limits to what can be done, and
civil engineers can only harness or manage
the environment, not control it. This message
should be delivered to the public to raise
awareness and manage often unrealistic
expectations. With the right legislation,
funding and skills, we can do more to protect
properties from flooding. There are a number
of high profile flood alleviation schemes in the
region which show this.
Time for action
In 2004, the government published The
Foresight Report, which estimated that annual
damages due to flooding and coastal erosion
could rise from £1.4bn a year to £27bn a year
by 2080. It also suggested that these damages
could be reduced by between 40% and 70%
through risk management activities.
Following the devastating floods in the
summer of 2007, the government appointed
Sir Michael Pitt to review the process of
flood risk management, identify shortfalls
and provide recommendations to improve
the process. He gave 92 recommendations
which he felt should be implemented as soon
as possible, with major initiatives completed
by the end of 2010. The Pitt Review was
addressed to local authorities, local resilience
forums, providers of essential services, insurers
and others, the general public and government
offices and covered six main themes:
■ Knowing when and where it will flood
■ Improved planning and reducing the risk of
flooding and its impact
■ Being rescued and cared for in an
emergency
■ Maintaining power and water supplies and
protecting essential services
■ Better advice and helping people to protect
their families and homes
■ Staying healthy and speeding up recovery
The overall thrust of the recommendations
was that a much more integrated approach
Hexham, courtesy of the Environment Agency
Ullswater Gardens, South Shields
is required for flood risk management,
requiring changes in legislation to provide
clarity, especially in terms of the roles and
responsibilities of key operating authorities.
The government responded in December 2008
with resounding support of the Pitt Review’s
findings.
The Institution of Civil Engineers also
produced a report entitled Flooding:
Engineering Resilience, which can be viewed
at the following link: www.ice.org.uk/
downloads/2008_flooding.pdf
The Floods and Water Bill, due for consultation
later this year, is anticipated to address the
shortfalls identified by Pitt in order to allow
more efficient management of flood risk.
www.defra.gov.uk/environ/fcd/
floodsandwaterbill.htm
Although there is a price to pay for better flood
management, all of the recommendations
outlined in the Pitt Review have a net cost
benefit, i.e. the cost of implementation will
be far less than that of repairing the damage
that is likely if no action is taken. At present,
this implementation cost is seen as the major
hurdle that must be overcome if the operating
authorities are to take up the challenges that
are presented to them.
www.defra.gov.uk/environ/fcd/floods07/
Govtresptopitt.pdf
The way forward
Engineers have a key role to play in reducing
flood risk, developing solutions and engaging
with the public.
A range of techniques exists for flood
alleviation, such as better management of
surface water at source and the attenuation
of peak flows, as well as the more traditional
approaches of increasing sewer capacity or
providing flood defences for rivers and
coastal waters.
There is an obligation on everyone involved in
flood risk management to find more sustainable
solutions to flooding problems and to look
more widely to ensure that new development
does not increase flood risk elsewhere. This
approach needs to be more strongly supported
through the planning system. Even with
PPS25 in existence, it is apparent that too
much development is taking place without
addressing all flood risk issues. Opportunities
to reduce flood risk through redevelopment
and regeneration schemes, of which there are
several in the North East, are also potentially
being missed due to lack of enforcement of
sustainability principles.
The effective management of surface water must
be a central theme in any urban development
or redevelopment and should be enforceable
through statutory powers. Much better use
needs to be made of landscaping features to
reduce and attenuate surface runoff. Features
could be permeable paving, soft landscaping or
attenuation ponds. Drainage systems need to be
designed so that when capacity is exceeded, any
resultant flooding impacts are understood and
managed appropriately. This can be achieved by
containing excess flows within the highway and
directing them away from property toward less
critical areas.
A catchment approach needs to be adopted
with solutions in locations that are remote
from areas at risk from flooding, such as
surface water storage upstream of at risk
areas. In the upper reaches of catchments,
terracing of open slopes, tree planting and wet
grassland areas can provide storage areas and
delay the time it takes for rain water to enter
drainage networks. By carrying out these land
use changes sympathetically flood control
can be made sustainable with benefits for
landowners as well as the public. Controlling
surface water at source and providing
sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS) to
reduce downstream impacts should become
standard practice, and this will require the
various stakeholders including local authorities,
water companies and the Environment Agency
to work together more closely. In many
urban areas an integrated approach will be
required that considers flood risk from sewers,
watercourses and other components of the
drainage system together. This needs to be
backed by strong legislation to define clearly
the lines of responsibility and funding for
construction and future maintenance.
The knowledge and technical skills to deliver
such an approach exist in the North East,
although there is generally a skills shortage in
Dutch retrofitted Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SUDS)
ICE North East
Room 3.13, Cassie Building
School of Civil Engineering and
Geosciences
Newcastle University
Claremont Road
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 7RU
t +44 (0)191 261 1850
e irene.hurley@ice.org.uk
ice-northeast.org.uk
the UK. The main obstacles to achieving it lie
in the division of responsibilities and funding
for dealing with flooding and drainage, and
with the weaknesses in the planning process
in relation to flood risk. We want to see these
shortcomings addressed in future legislation.
Progress in the region
SURFACE WATER MANAGEMENT PLANS
(SWMP)
Findings from urban drainage pilot studies
carried out in Hartlepool and Newcastle have
helped to inform Defra’s guidance on SWMPs.
Surface water run-off contributes significantly
to the flooding of property when surface water
flows exceed the capacity of the drainage
system. SWMPs are aimed at diverting surface
water run-off away from the sewerage
system and into local drainage areas, either in
drainage ponds or through permeable surfaces.
Local authorities are to take the lead role in
implementing SWMPs with guidance offered
by Defra. Six local authorities are being funded
by Defra to help develop first edition SWMPs.
NORTHUMBRIA REGIONAL FLOOD
DEFENCE COMMITTEE (NRFDC)
The NRFDC has been funding small scale
projects in the region aimed at developing
innovative engineering approaches to local
flood defence problems. For example £650,000
is being used to create a series of small
storage ponds and wetlands upstream of the
town of Belford in north Northumberland.
The partly completed scheme successfully
reduced the impact of the same storm event
which hit Morpeth in September 2008. The
project aims to develop a toolkit of options so
that techniques can be used elsewhere in the
country. (www.environment-agency.gov.uk/
news/101203.aspx) Similar schemes are to be
undertaken in 2009/10 in different parts of the
region. The committee also works with schools
and businesses to raise awareness of climate
change and its impact on future flood risk.
NEW TECHNOLOGIES
State of the art research is being carried out
at Newcastle University, modelling the risk of
flooding using a numerical model to produce
catchment scale 3D simulations of flood
events. The information gained will enable
stakeholders to identify and prioritise resources
to help reduce the future risk of flooding. The
research is funded through the Flood Risk
Management Research Consortium (FRMRC)
and is expected to be completed in 2011.
www.ceg.ncl.ac.uk/research/water/projects/
adaptive.htm
CLIMATE CHANGE
North East Climate Change Partnership
commissioned a study in April 2008 in
response to the threat of climate change.
This report will look at the impact of climate
change up to 2050, what should be done to
adapt, and recommend actions to be taken
now for the future. North East England is the
first region in the world to use such a detailed
analytical technique to develop climate
change adaptation strategies. The high level
of detail in the study will enable organisations
and businesses from the public, private and
voluntary sector to respond more confidently
when identifying what they need to do to
adapt to our changing climate.
www.northeastassembly.gov.uk/page.
asp?id=99.
The region’s aims
In addition to dedicated funding to tackle
flood alleviation schemes, we would
welcome a government amendment to
building regulations to ensure that all new
or refurbished buildings in high flood-risk
areas are flood resistant or resilient, and
that development does not increase risk
of flooding (e.g. by paving over previously
permeable areas). The government is currently
considering these requirements and how best
“flood performance” could be included within
amended building regulations. This may open
up the opportunity to provide green roofs and
purpose-built storage systems alongside flood
resilience and resistance measures.
www.defra.gov.uk/environ/fcd/policy/
surfacewaterdrainage.htm
Morpeth Floods, courtesy of the Environment Agency
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