The Flood and
Water Management Bill gained Royal Assent yesterday.
The Act will implement several key recommendations of Sir Michael
Pitt’s Review of the Summer 2007 floods, protect water supplies to
consumers and protect community groups from excessive charges for
surface water drainage.
The Act’s provisions include:
· New statutory responsibilities for managing flood risk
– There will be national strategies and guidance on managing flood
risk in England and Wales. Unitary and county councils will bring
together the relevant bodies, who will have a duty to cooperate,
to develop local strategies for managing local flood risk.
· Protection of assets which help manage flood risk –
The Environment Agency, local authorities and internal drainage
boards will be able to ensure that private assets which help
manage the risks of floods cannot be altered without consent. For
example, putting a gate in a wall that is helping protect an area
could increase the risk of flooding.
· Powers to carry out environmental works – the
Environment Agency, local authorities and internal drainage boards
will be able to manage water levels to deliver leisure, habitat
and other environmental benefits.
· Sustainable drainage – drainage systems for all new
developments will need to be in line with new National Standards
to help manage and reduce the flow of surface water into the
sewerage system.
· New sewer standards – all sewers will be built to
agreed standards in future so that they are adopted and maintained
by the relevant sewerage company.
· Reservoir safety – the public will be protected by a
new risk-based regime for reservoir safety. It will reduce the
burden on regulated reservoirs where people are not at risk, but
introduce regulation for some potentially risky reservoirs
currently outside of the system.
· Water company charges – there will be protection
against unaffordable charges for surface water drainage for
community groups such as churches, scouts and others. Future water
company charges can include social tariffs for those who would
otherwise face difficulty meeting their bills.
· Protection of water supplies – there will be wider
powers for water companies to control non-essential domestic uses
of water in times of drought.
· Other protection for water company customers – there
will be new powers to reduce the level of bad debt, new
arrangements for managing very risky infrastructure projects which
could be a threat to the ability of the water company to provide
its services, and updated arrangements for administration of water
companies should they get into difficulties.
Notes to Editors
For more information on the Flood and Water Management Act
visit:
http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/flooding/policy/fwmb/.Two
thirds of the flooding in 2007 (which affected 55,000 people in
the UK) was caused by surface water flooding which happens when
heavy rainfall overwhelms sewers and drains and the water has
nowhere to go. For more information on surface water flooding go
to:
http://defra.gov.uk/environment/flooding/manage/surfacewater/index.htm.More
details on concessionary charges for community groups for surface
water drainage can be found at:
http://defra.gov.uk/news/2009/090928a.htm.Reservoirs were only
regulated in the past if their capacity was 25,000 cubic metres or
more.
Press enquiries 020 7238 5334; Public enquiries 08459 335577;
Press notices are available on our websitewww.defra.gov.ukDefra’s
aim is sustainable development
Contacts:
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Phone: 020 7238 6600
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