In recent news the Government has announced its commitment to the Flood and Water Management Act.  A package initially pledged by Labour is to continue under the Conservatives.

Ministers have unveiled a £2m pot; ensuring councils can prepare preliminary flood risk assessments. 

Richard Benyon, Environment minister announced that a £2m pot will help local authorities deal with flood risk assessments.  This alongside a £1m fund securing a draft strategy for building skills in flood risk management should be beneficial.  The strategy was developed between the Local Government Association, The Environment Agency and other key partners.

The £2m funding pot will mean preliminary flood risk assessments (PFRA) can be carried out.  Help local flood authorities to produce assessments of local flood risk ensuring compliance with the Flood Risk Regulations before the December 2011 deadline.

DEFRA (The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) has planned two consultations on setting up a national standard for sustainable drainage (known as SUDS) and transferring the ownership of private sewers to water companies.  The details of which will be published later this year.

Mr Benyon said: ‘Dealing with flooding is a matter that this government takes very seriously and our Structural Reform Plan launched earlier this month commits us to implementing the findings of the Pitt Review to improve our flood defences. ‘Local authorities clearly have a vital role in managing flood risk and we aim to give them all the support we can, not only through funding for defences, but also by providing guidance on planning for a flood and training for staff.’

Simon Phelps of Fluvial Innovations, manufacturer of the Floodstop flood prevention barriers, commented:

“It’s great news that funding is being continued. However this is just a small fraction of the investment needed to improve UK flood defences”

FLOODSTOP is being used by homeowners, businesses and local authorities throughout the UK.  The product was specifically developed to supercede sandbagging methods in terms of cost, speed of deployment and effectiveness.  The Emergency Planning Society voted FLOODSTOP as the most innovative product of 2009. The EPS promotes effective planning and managing of local emergency preparation and response.

Huge parts of the UK are at risk from the ever-increasing threat of flooding; sandbags do not offer adequate protection.

“Sandbags were used during the summer floods of 2007. They didn’t work then and they have never been effective at flood prevention.  Sandbags are deployed to put peoples minds at rest that councils are doing something, when in truth their expensive, slow to assemble and completely ineffective at dealing with floodwaters”

“The FLOODSTOP Modular Flood Barrier is cheaper and far more effective than sandbags.  The barrier can be rapidly deployed by one person.  It doesn’t need to be bolted to the ground and the units, are simply connected using slide-in keys. The barrier is re-useable, unlike sandbags; and it works, unlike sandbags. Local authorities are wasting a large percentage of their budgets on sandbags that are prone to leakage, slow to assemble and can only be used once.”

“Floodstop units actually fill with the rising flood waters, this weighs the barrier down.  The beauty of this system is that when flood waters eventually recede the barrier becomes light enough to be taken away by one person”