Flooding: Unprecedented or Our Future?
Over the last weeks we have been deluged with unwelcome rainfall in East Herts, in part due to Storm Henk. Hertfordshire County Council received over 1045 reports of flooding and fallen trees during the storm. There have been flood warnings on the rivers Lee and Ash. Local residents have experienced flooding to property and roads – for instance in the usual hotspots of Cromwell Road in Hertford and the North Road junction by Hertford North station, plus Hoe Lane in Ware. People have had challenges travelling around safely by personal vehicle (with accidents on major roads such as the A414 and fords impassable, for example in Much Hadham), by public transport (as trains have been disrupted by rainfall) and spare a thought for cyclists and pedestrians who brave a drenching from passing traffic every journey.
As residents of East Herts, we have become accustomed to localised flooding – our Councillors in East Herts Green Party receive multiple reports of blocked drains unable to cope with excess water, rivers bursting their banks and widespread saturation of rural fields and pathways. We also see gullies overflowing into foul sewers, which risks overloading pipework and sewage treatment plants, resulting in sewage dumping into our beautiful chalk streams and even residents’ gardens. Residents are making connections between house building, inadequate plans for surface water drainage and the impact of additional run-off into our local waterways, or wherever the water can find a place to go. There is also a notable impatience about who is responsible for fixing the problem of flooding, which we hear about frequently.
So who is responsible for dealing with flooding?
Managing flood risk from all main rivers and the sea is the responsibility of the Environment Agency. If you see one of our local rivers blocked, or waters rising alarmingly high threatening banks to break, please raise the issue with them.
In general, taking surface water away from highways and keeping roads, footpaths, drains and gullies clear and properly functioning are the responsibility of the Highways Authority at Herts County Council.
Water and sewage companies are responsible for public sewers and utility pipes. So if your home or garden is affected by overflowing sewage, you need to contact your water company.
At a domestic level – we can all play a part. Home-owners have a duty of care to keep their gutters and drains clear, to avoid damaging neighbours’ property and must install adequate drainage measures during building works or face enforcement action. The common law right to drainage means that water is allowed to naturally flow from higher land downhill onto neighbouring lower land but modern interference causes problems so that flow of water can no longer be deemed natural. Obstructions such as walls or raised patios can cause flooding elsewhere nearby and need to be carefully managed.
There have been significant changes to law on surface water drainage in recent years, with the introduction of Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) regulations in 2015. SuDS are designed to replicate natural drainage and manage surface water at its source to reduce flood risk. Local authorities such as East Herts District Council have been given greater responsibility for approving and enforcing SuDS in new developments. They will consult Herts County Council who advise the local planning authority on whether proposed drainage schemes comply with the relevant technical standards and policies.
What about responsibility in rural areas? Watercourse owners have a responsibility to maintain any “ordinary” watercourse (anything that is not a river; such as ditch, stream or culvert) that flows through or under their property. Maintenance includes removing blockages to prevent natural flow. They have to report incidents of flooding but are not actually responsible for reducing the risk of flooding. This falls to a Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA) – in our case Herts County Council.
However, to the local resident, this complicated separation of responsibility across many authorities and individuals is frustrating. If you’ve ever tried to report a problem with flooding and get a swift resolution that lasts, you will understand. And with local councils’ budgets severely squeezed, so that impossible choices have to be made about which services must be reduced or cut, we’re left in a quandary of trying to use a sticking plaster to heal a gaping wound.
Managing the risk of flooding and dealing with the after-effects of excess water ingress are only two responses to a much bigger problem. Our government needs to understand how climate change is affecting global and local weather systems, and act boldly to minimise the impact. It’s all very well unveiling additional support packages for homeowners and businesses affected by flooding, but this is not tackling the issue at source. We need significant funding and immediate action to reduce the emissions which are causing the planet to warm, and subsequently increasing the likelihood of more severe weather events and normalising the heavy rainfall we’ve seen causing flooding locally.
Only the Green Party is committed to investing what is necessary to bring down emissions.
#DefendingOurEnvironment