We're proud to have developed new national flood investigation guidance for England, which will support Lead Local Flood Authorities (LLFAs) when investigating and reporting on flood incidents, as required under section 19 of the Flood and Water Management Act. The JBA-authored guidance will also bring greater consistency to the way section 19 flood investigations are undertaken, whilst also highlighting how they can contribute to future resilience.
What are the aims of the national flood investigation guidance for England?
Developed as part of the Government's response to the Jenkins review, the new guidance emphasises how flood investigations can help us better understand flooding from all sources. This is particularly true of surface water and groundwater, for which there are no national records of historic or recorded flood events.
The guidance also underlines how flood investigations are an opportunity to engage with flooded communities, provide evidence to support flood and coastal erosion risk management investment, steer local flood risk strategy and better understand regional and national trends.
Designed to be utilised by Lead Local Flood Authorities, other risk management authorities, communities, consultants and data users, the new guidance aims to:
- Provide a consistent supporting framework for investigating a flood
- Advocate a proportionate and scalable approach in all aspects of the investigation
- Encourage collaboration and partnership working between risk management authorities on shared flood risk issues
- Ensure that as well as fulfilling legislative requirements, flood investigations can contribute to future resilience
- Signpost tools and information to aid in tasks and analysis
- Provide examples of good practice, use of technology and efficiencies
How was the new guidance developed?
To ensure we produced guidance which was relevant to and useful for LLFAs and other stakeholders, we engaged with all 152 LLFAs in England. This engagement received a strong response, with more than half of those contacted responding to a survey, and nearly a third attending virtual workshops. This helped us to understand what was needed from the guidance and to identify key challenges and opportunities when investigating flood events.
By establishing a steering group and conducting interviews, we were also able to engage with wider stakeholders. This included the Environment Agency, water companies, academics, insurers, industry bodies, community resilience charities and government departments.
We are specialists in local flood risk management and have supported LLFA investigations into more than 20 events. For more information about our local flood risk management services or flood investigations, contact Anna Beasley or Thomasin Shorrock.
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