Agenda Reports Pack (Public) 15/10/2012, 19.00 - Meetings ...

1.7. The Environment Agency has carried out research into developing a surface waterflooding alert system. The Environment Agency is well placed to provide a modellingand warning system to cover surface water flooding. Whilst surface water modellingis still in its infancy the Environment Agency is working with its partners to developthe tools and techniques required to model surface water flooding and it is hopedthat a significantly more sophisticated modelling system will emerge from thisprocess.1.8. The Task Group did not feel it would be appropriate, at this time, for the Council toseek to develop and implement its own surface water flooding modelling, other thanthe modelling required as part of the update of the Surface Water Management plan,which will also be used to fufill the Council’s requirements to map Flood Risk Areasby 2013, as required under the Flood Risk Regulations. This work will be undertakenby the consultants as part of the Surface Water Management Plan updatecommission. The result of this modelling will also be used by the EnvironmentAgency to develop further modelling techniques. The Task Group took this view inlight of the costs of establishing and implementing an effective flood risk modellingsystem, both in terms of the costs of designing a modelling system and in terms ofthe costs of engaging with third party consultants to assist existing in-houseexpertise put such a model together.1.9. The Council has appointed Clare Share as Flood Risk Manager and, in addition toher, has other officers who have some experience and expertise in flood risk,particularly in the planning department. The Task Group were impressed that theCouncil has already appointed a Flood Risk Manager and noted that other LeadLocal Flood Authorities had not been as pro-active as the Council in recruitingadditional flood risk expertise. The lack of flood risk engineers in public sectororganisations was identified by the Institution of Civil Engineers in their report entitledEngineering Skills for Flood Risk Management 3 (2004).1.10. The Pitt Review, through discussions with local authorities and engineeringprofessions, recognised four key factors as to why this was the case.i. Low salary levels for flood risk engineers, particularly in the public sector.ii. The lack of perceived value given to working for local authorities.iii. The requirement in many posts to carry out a broad range of roles, such asstakeholder engagement, rather than focusing on core engineering skills.iv. The simple shortage of suitably qualified graduates.1.11. The Task Group acknowledge that the Council is able to rely upon consultantengineers but notes that in the long run there may be very real benefits to havingadditional in-house expertise.1.12. The Task Group felt that the Council should maintain a close working relationshipwith the Environment Agency. The Environment Agency currently engages withnumerous parties who are responsible for different aspects of the drainage andsewerage systems – including water companies, internal drainage boards, highwaysauthorities, navigation authorities and riparian owners. This will help theEnvironment Agency understand how surface water runoff is discharged by the3 http://www.ice.org.uk/Information-resources/Document-Library/Engineering-skills-for-flood-riskmanagement- 15 -Page 174