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CHAPTER 1: BACKGROUND

The impacts of flooding

1.1 Flooding can have serious effects on people, their homes and businesses, and their health. According to the most recent flood maps ¹ almost 100,000 properties in Scotland are either at risk of fluvial flooding or lie within coastal flood zones. Flooding may also arise from sewers overflowing and from the overland flow of surface water (pluvial flooding), as a result of heavy and intense rainfall. More generally, flooding impacts on the transport infrastructure and on many other aspects of people's lives.

1.2 A number of damaging floods have occurred in Scotland in recent years: Perth 1993, Strathclyde 1994, Edinburgh 2000, Elgin 1997 and 2002, Glasgow 2002, and Hawick 2005. These vary in scale as the following two examples illustrate; however the distress to those affected remains equal.

Hawick 2005

1.3 Climate trends in Scotland show that since 1961, heavy rainfall events have increased significantly in winter, particularly in the northern and western regions where winter rainfall has increased by almost 60%. Further information on climate trends in Scotland is available from the Scotland and Northern Ireland Forum for Environmental Research work on climate trends ². Moreover, climate change scenarios predict that flooding will become more frequent in future. The UK Climate Impacts Programme ( UKCIP) has formulated scenarios to look at possible future climate change, dependent on predicted future global greenhouse emissions. This research provides Scotland with the best available information on predicted changes in climate over the next century and indicates that, over the coming decades, Scotland will experience more severe rainfall events, particularly in the east of the country ³. Revised versions of the UK climate change scenarios will be available in late 2008.

1.4 There is a growing recognition that to adapt to these changes, we must take a more holistic approach to flood risk management. The local effects of inland flooding can be exacerbated by the way our river catchments are used and managed. To be effective, solutions must be sought and planned across catchments i.e. the area which is drained by a river.

1.5 In addition to addressing flood risk, the Scottish Government is also working to address other unavoidable consequences of climate change with the development of Scotland's first climate change adaptation strategy. This strategy will identify priority action to safeguard the smooth functioning of our communities' services and infrastructure and will be released for consultation in 2008.

Current landscape of flood risk management in Scotland

General roles and responsibilities

1.6 In Scotland, it is up to owners to provide a level of protection from flooding appropriate to their property, including overland flooding caused by the build up of water on land following heavy rainfall or by a high water table causing ponding of standing water in low lying areas.

1.7 Public bodies have significant responsibilities:

• Local Authorities - are responsible for planning control, bringing forward and constructing flood prevention schemes, the assessment and maintenance of watercourses, and co-ordination of authorities when there is a flooding event. They are required by section 6A of the Flood Prevention (Scotland) Act 1961 (The 1961 Act) (as inserted by the Flood Prevention and Land Drainage (Scotland) Act 1997) to publish a biennial report of instances of flooding and measures taken to mitigate flooding of non-agricultural land. As planning authorities they have responsibility for controlling development in flood risk areas.
• Scottish Environment Protection Agency, SEPA- has responsibility for the dissemination of flood warnings, providing flood risk and flood mitigation information through Floodline, assisting local authorities by providing flood risk information, such as publishing flood risk maps, and regulating the impact on the water environment of flood defences (and other engineering works on rivers) through the Controlled Activities Regulations ( CAR) made under the Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act 2003.
• Scottish Water- Scottish Water maintain water supply and drainage infrastructure, and manage the discharge of surface water that enters their drainage systems. They also work in partnership with the local authority and emergency services to alleviate any flooding of sewers and the impact of this flooding. Where necessary, Scottish Water repair flood damaged mains and deal with any flooding caused by bursts and manage the storage and release of flood water supply to reservoirs.
• The Scottish Ministers - have responsibility for national policy on flood alleviation and provide resources to public bodies to discharge their functions. They are also responsible for confirming flood prevention schemes under the 1961 Act.

1.8 Responses to flood events are coordinated through eight strategic coordinating groups across Scotland, led by the Chief Constable and local authority Chief Executives. These groups are responsible for developing detailed plans for all types of incidents in their areas. These plans are exercised regularly and all groups have experience of dealing with different types of emergencies. A number of organisations contribute to delivery of the plans, including local authorities, emergency services and SEPA.

1.9 Many of the criticisms levied at current roles and responsibilities revolve around the 'grey' areas where it is unclear who is responsible for dealing with floodwater, whatever its source. The Flooding Bill will therefore establish a clear framework of responsibility, with duties and powers defined so that each organisation involved knows exactly what is required.

Current Legislation for the management of flood risk

1.10 A wide range of legislation underpins flood risk management in Scotland. A summary of the major flooding related legislation is provided in Annex A. The statutory responsibility for flooding is currently widespread and at times unclear, leading to a piecemeal approach being adopted in many instances.

1.11 Much of this legislation is now outdated and does not reflect changes to the way that government and local services are delivered in Scotland, including the creation of the Scottish Government, unitary local authorities, Scottish Water and SEPA.

1.12 Similarly, current legislation does not interact well with modern approaches to flood risk management, which are underpinned by catchment focused planning of a range of measures to alleviate and avoid flood risk as well as promoting awareness of flood risk and improving assistance once flooding has occurred.

1.13 The Government's proposals for a Flooding Bill will shift the emphasis to a catchment focused approach to managing flood risks and clarify the roles and responsibilities to create a fully integrated approach to flood management.

1.14 The legislation will also transpose the EC Floods Directive.

EC Floods Directive

1.15 EU environment ministers agreed in October 2004 that there was a need for greater European coordination of flood risk management, leading to proposals for a new EC Directive. The purpose of the Directive, which came into force in December 2007, is to establish a common framework for the assessment and management of flood risks. The Floods Directive requires action by Member States in 3 main areas:

• Production of preliminary flood risk assessments
• Production of flood hazard maps and flood risk maps
• Production of flood risk management plans

The Floods Directive must be transposed into Scots Law by December 2009.

The planning system and the statutory process for flood prevention schemes

1.16 Flood prevention schemes (as they are currently known) may be proposed by local authorities under the Flood Prevention (Scotland) Act 1961. BOX 2 summarises the main stages of promoting a flood prevention scheme.

1.17 The statutory process set out in the 1961 Act is seen as the cause of lengthy delays in developing and building flood prevention schemes and is not integrated with other statutory processes such as planning and CAR licensing. Local authorities therefore face three separate statutory processes in order to get a scheme built. The Government wishes to streamline these statutory processes to remove some of the potential for delays.

1.18 Development on areas of flood plain is a significant issue and the planning process has a critical role to play. Scottish Planning Policy 7 ( SPP7) currently provides a statement of the policy to be taken into consideration within the preparation of development plans and development control. For example, it sets a risk framework using the annual probability of flooding to assist the determination of planning applications, essentially to prevent development that would be affected by flooding.

1.19 Planning Advice Note 69 complements this by outlining approaches to ensure that future built developments are not located in areas with a significant risk of flooding. It outlines advice and background information that, together with SPP7, has become the reference point for strategic and local planning consideration of flood risk.

Managing urban drainage

1.20 As highlighted by the summer floods of 2007 in England and Wales and in Glasgow in 2002, managing urban drainage is a vital component of flood risk management. Current drainage infrastructure is being placed under increasing pressure from industrial development and urbanisation, and the capacity to accommodate continuing regeneration and growth is limited in many areas.

1.21 Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems ( SUDS), which describes a set of techniques designed to slow the flow of water, can contribute to reducing flood risk by absorbing some of the initial rainfall, and then releasing it gradually, thereby reducing the flood peak and helping to mitigate downstream problems, and make a useful contribution to a flood management strategy. However, SUDS alone cannot provide full protection against the quantities of water involved in prolonged heavy rain.

Moray 2002

1.22 Under the rules of CAR, discharges (run-off) from new developments, during and following construction, may be required to be drained by a SUDS. While the main driver for this provision is the control of diffuse pollution, it may be expected to assist in storm water management.

1.23 Scottish Water has published a set of standards for SUDS in its Sewers for Scotland, 2 ^nd edition. The Scottish Government has advised that developers and Scottish Water should make agreements for the construction and vesting in Scottish Water of SUDS in public spaces, including the use of appropriate source control within curtilages, but does not propose to make any regulations to govern the form or content of such agreements.

1.24 Urban drainage plans have been used in Scotland to reduce the risks of flooding in urban settings. An example of an integrated approach to managing urban drainage is the Metropolitan Glasgow Strategic Drainage Plan.

The Pitt Report on the Floods in July/August 2007

1.25 Scotland was fortunate not to experience the severe and widespread flooding experienced in England, but we recognise that Scotland too can learn lessons from these floods. The interim report from Sir Michael Pitt into the summer floods confirms the extreme nature of the weather that gave rise to the floods, and identifies a number of urgent steps recommended to be taken straight away. These relate to monitoring of specific flood risks, better information sharing and the practicalities of emergency response.

1.26 The report recommends that flood legislation should be streamlined and updated to clarify responsibilities, address all sources of flooding, and reflect the modern, risk-management approach. The Flooding Bill will address flood risk management issues in Scotland to ensure a modern risk-based approach is complemented by a streamlined decision-making process.

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