Flood and Water Management Bill gets Royal Assent

The Flood and Water Management Bill has gained Royal Assent, implementing many of the recommendations of Sir Michael Pitt’s Review of the Summer 2007 floods and making local authorities legally responsible for preventing surface water flooding for the first time.

According to the Department of Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), the Flood and Water Management Act creates a new national strategy on managing flood risk in England and Wales.

Unitary and county councils will be required to develop local strategies for flood risk management, in partnership with relevant bodies under a new duty to co-operate. Local authorities, DEFRA and internal drainage boards will now have the power to ensure private assets, which help manage flood risk, cannot be altered without consent. Local authorities, DEFRA and internal drainage boards will also have the power to manage water levels to deliver leisure, habitat and environmental benefits.

The Act now provides for tighter drainage requirements for all new developments, which will need to be in line with new National Standards to help manage the flow of surface water into the sewerage system. Sewers will also need to be built according to agreed standards in the future, so that they are adopted and maintained by the relevant sewerage company.

According to DEFRA, the introduction of a new “risk-based” regime to reservoir safety by the Act will reduce the burden on regulated reservoirs where people are not at risk, but regulate potentially risky reservoirs currently outside the system.

The new legislation also contains safeguards to protect community groups such as churches and voluntary groups against unaffordable charges for surface water drainage. There will also be safeguards for future water company charges, including social tariffs for those who would otherwise face difficulty meeting their bills.

Water companies under the Act will have wider powers to control non-essential domestic uses for water in times of drought. According to DEFRA, water company customers will also benefit under new powers to reduce the level of bad debt, arrangements for managing very risky infrastructure projects and updated arrangements for administration of water companies.

“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,” DEFRA said.

For more information on the Flood and Water Management Act please click here.