Environment Agency a new beginning Local Flood Defence Committee Handover Document March 2005 Hillfarrance during construction Minehead Beach during sea wall construction Committee meeting at Bridgwater December 2004. Tony Owen (Area Manager); Richard Symonds (Flood Defence Manager); Allen Cotton (Chairman); Jane Brookhouse; Hazel Prior-Sankey; Humphrey Temperley (WRFDC Chairman); Brian Livings; Alan Lovell; Ray Adlam; Roger Martin; Peter Burden; Peter Maltby. Cover: High flow in the River Tone. Curry Moor on the left bank. Stan Moor Bank on the right 2 Environ mem Agency Somerset Local Rood Defence Committee Handover Document 2005 Somerset Local Flood Defence Committee A new beginning A new regional flood defence committee is to take over the work of the Somerset Local Flood Defence Committee (SLFDC). This booklet celebrates the Local Committee’s many achievements and looks at the challenges facing its successor. The Committee can trace its history in 1965. The Board had come into The Committee’s work would not of responsibility for the Somerset being in 1950 when it added have been possible without the area’s flood defences back to 1932. fishery and pollution prevention support of the Environment In 1989 the Somerset Local Land duties to the role of the Somerset Agency’s Flood Defence staff, Drainage Committee became the River Catchment Board formed in including the Emergency Workforce Somerset Local Flood Defence 1932. (now Operations Delivery). We Committee. The Local Land thank them for their efforts and Drainage Committee had in its turn A single tier of flood defence urge the new committee to continue taken over duties from the committees Is being set up supporting their work. Somerset River Authority on the following the 2003 Flood and formation of Wessex Water Coastal Defence Funding Review. A Authority in 1974. The 1963 Water regional committee for Wessex - the Resources Act had led to the Wessex Regional Flood Defence Somerset River Authority taking Committee (WRFDC) - will be over from the Somerset River Board responsible for Somerset and the rest of the region. 130789 Environment Agen Somerset Local Rood Defence Committee Handover Document 2005 3 BaltmoorWall strengthening at Athelney Flood defence work has traditionally • better flood forecasting and focused on reducing flooding by warning; Flood maps building, operating and maintaining • emergency planning; Flood risk maps have been given defences. Panel 1 (page 5) • land management; to local councils so they can highlights local policies that the • raising awareness. reflect the risk in their emergency 5LFDC commends to the WRFDC. planning and development control These activities are detailed in this policies. Similar maps are on the The Committee has now moved from booklet. Environment Agency’s website, funding defences in reaction to www.environment-agency.gov.uk. events to a more strategic The Committee is pursuing its new investment policy. This follows the strategy by starting work soon on The maps are part of a strategy to shift to Flood Risk Management by Catchment Flood Management give the public better information both the Environment Agency and Plans and revisiting Shoreline about flood risk and provide an the Department for Environment, Management Plans. It is also initial assessment of risk. The Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). looking at the idea of moving back Committee supports a national banks along rivers and the coast. modelling programme that will Flood Risk Management means that produce more detailed flood risk the results of flooding can be data. reduced by not only built defences but also: ■A Environment Age: Somerset Local Rood Defence Committee Handover Document 2005 Somerset Local Flood Defence Committee Panel 1 SLFDC policies recommended to WRFDC • Where the justification of continuing maintenance of assets is questionable an option of promoting set-back should be given positive consideration. • The prolonging of the life of existing assets through programmed maintenance is preferable to allowing deterioration requiring asset replacement. • The Environment Agency should not promote schemes to protect single isolated properties, but should consider contributing towards acceptable solutions promoted by the individual property owner. • The Committee has been at the forefront of promoting the consideration of catchment-wide solutions for flood risks, and supports the Catchment Flood Management Plan approach to producing policies for the future management of flood risk. Somerset Local Flood Defence Committee Handover Document 2005 Somerset Local Flood Defence Committee Flood warning Taunton Cattle Market Doppler Gauging Station installation The Committee is overseeing a big The Environment Agency works with improvement in the flood warning local communities in flood risk Emergency plans service. A programme to raise public areas which ensures their needs are Flood emergency response plans awareness is helping people help understood and catered for. Flood must be kept up to date. We help themselves. It is also reducing warden schemes are being set up other authorities review their unrealistic expectations of what the and some are already operating. emergency plans. Local flood Environment Agency can do - many warning plans have been people think the Agency can stop implemented and joint practices flooding altogether. held to test the plans so that we can work well together in a real event. 6 ErtviK'tiiiipni Age Somerset Local Rood Defence Committee Handover Document 2005 Hankeridge Farm, Taunton during high flows in the River Tone The Committee has tried to ensure • creates or worsens flooding that flood risk to development is elsewhere; Success stories minimised. It has done this by prejudices future work needed to The Committee has overseen promoting the Government’s reduce flood risk; successful working with others on guidance on development in flood • harms the environment. development sites at Hankeridge risk areas, and by giving advice and Farm, Taunton; Portishead and help on flood defence issues. Natural floodplains must be kept Portbury Dock; Express Park, The Committee has stressed that and, where possible, restored so Bridgwater; and the River Axe at development should not take place that flood water can be stored. Uphill. There have been if it: improvements to wildlife habitats at these sites as well as flood • creates an unacceptable flood risk defence benefits. that could endanger lives, damage property or mean Development pressures are inappropriate spending on increasing and the Committee is repairs; keen for the Environment Agency to be part of the growing number of exciting opportunities opening up. Negotiations are ongoing for major developments in Taunton town centre, at Norton Fitzwarren and on the River Banwell. Environment Agenc Somerset Local Rood Defence Committee Handover Document 2005 7 Somerset Local Flood Defence Committee The Somerset drainage area Eighteen rivers flow into the Severn Estuary along the Somerset coast. The estuary has the second highest tidal range in the world. This has a big effect on water levels in the tide-locked Somerset Levels and Moors and along the coast. Steep streams drain the north edge of Exmoor in the west of the county. Run-off from other hilly areas - the Blackdowns, Dorset Hills, Mendips and Quantocks - flows across flat lowlands in tide-locked channels that are often embanked. Taunton, Bridgwater, Yeovil, Glastonbury and Wells are market towns, while Minehead, Burnham, Weston- super-Mare and Clevedon are coastal resorts. These main towns have many built flood defences. However, the Somerset Levels and Moors have been the major focus for expenditure because they are internationally-important wetlands. Uphill Sluice construction 8 Environment Asf Somerset Local Flood Defence Committee Handover Document 2005 Bristol Severn f Legend Bristol Channel M«|or1 own* Minehead FfWuslmiu eapuaeri M5 Motorway — I---------- Railway Topography Elevation (metres) | 3 0 0- too Somerset Local Flood Defence Committee Handover Document 2005 too 200 200 - 300 300 400 400 500 © Crown copyright A l rights reserved k Environment Agency. 100026380. 2004 ML This map e based on Otdnanoe Survey Ltuidtrie data and proditcert lor the Environment Agency with the peimission d Odnance Survey Aerial imagery is copyright Getmapping pic. all nahts itf^ivad. bm m * iimifrm 21-04 /_______________ Map showing the boundary of the Somerset Local Flood Defence Committee vo Somerset Local Flood Defence Committee Key details The following are key statistics about the Committee’s River flood defences for which the Committee is area: responsible: Total area 306,600 ha Watercourses (main river) 871 km Population 684,000 Pumping stations 21 No. 43,800 ha Area at risk of flooding Major gates/control structures 250 No. Of which: agricultural land 26,500 ha housing 36,823 No. Raised embankments (fluvial) 784 km industry 49 ha Area below sea level 635 km Coastal and tidal flood defences for which the Major infrastructure Committee is responsible: motorway 81 km dual carriageway 34 km 87km ‘A’ roads 124 km Raised embankments (tidal rivers) main railway 200 km Coastal flood defences 38 km International environmental sites The Environment Agency also owns 162 bridges in the (SACS, SPA, RAMSAR) 16,200 Ha commiuee s area. National environmental sites 25000Ha (NNR, SSSI, A0NB, National Park, Scheduled Ancient Monuments) The following table shows the major urban locations and their properties at risk: Name Total Properties Properties