York Living and Adap0ng to Flood Risk Steve Wragg Flood Risk and - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

York – Living and Adap0ng to Flood Risk

Steve Wragg Flood Risk and Asset Manager Steve.wragg@york.gov.uk

York - a long history of flooding

2000 1892 1982 1947

York - a long history of flooding

6 6.5 7 7.5 8 8.5 9 9.5 10 10.5 11 1885 1890 1895 1900 1905 1910 1915 1920 1925 1930 1935 1940 1945 1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015

Viking Annual Max 1885-2015

Our Boxing Day experiences

• More than 430 flooded

residen0al proper0es

• 190 flooded commercial

proper0es

• The south east of the city was

impenetrable for all traffic

Our Boxing Day experiences

Boxing Day Major Comms Failure Record River Levels

• Forecas0ng did not fully predict the
• utcomes
• Second highest levels on the Ouse,

record levels on the Foss

• Foss Barrier overwhelmed
• Boxing Day, difficul0es in responding
• Major communica0on issues following

the loss of the local York exchange and wider infrastructure in Leeds

• Loss of Yorkshire Water Castle Mills

Pumping Sta0on

• Risk to electricity network
• Command and control accommoda0on

and comms issues

Our Boxing Day response

• 13,000 sandbags with mul0ple deployment to over 200 loca0ons across the city, many

loca0ons flooded that have not been affected since the barrier was built in the 1980’s

• 40 front line opera0ves on Boxing Day ensuring strategic flood temporary flood

defences were deployed, 63 road closures and support provided for the vulnerable

• Rest centre set up and staffed for three days
• Coordina0on of more than 600 volunteers throughout the event and post event clear-

up

• Skips deployed throughout flooded loca0ons and emp0ed regularly
• More than 900 proper0es visited in the immediate aZermath to iden0fy support needs,

vulnerable resident and business needs and begin to administer support and financial grants

• More than £500k in resilience grants, £300k council tax and £1.3m business rate relief

administered

• Rapid clean up and re-opening of all strategic traffic routes
• CYC officers a^ending a range of flood mee0ngs, surgeries and events to gather issues

and provide support

• Independent review commenced

Historic flooding versus modern day flooding, it looks the same but do

• ur residents,

businesses and visitors now expect so much more...? Our heritage assets have seen this many 0mes – are they resilient?

Managing risks, managing expecta0ons

Managing risks, managing expecta0ons

Trust – many thought they were safe from flooding and it would never happen to them Involvement of ci0zens - key to expand the reach of the finite resources of all partners New communica0ons issues – Very high ‘e-par0cipa0on’ in the event, ac0ve social media networks were very effec0ve but actually placed even more burden on the council to monitor, respond and ac0on A community based model is well placed to be^er understand the likelihood and impact of flooding and be more resilient to future flood events e.g. Flood Wardens

Looking Forward – reducing the impact

• Long term investment needed in our exis0ng flood risk management assets
• Certainty of Defra funding models and wider benefits criteria used in appraisals
• Be^er resilience in place in all plans
• Safer communi0es supported by effec0ve warning and informing procedures and

resilient community planning

• York is fully open for business and we embrace our rivers and waterways

Looking Forward – slowing the flow

Upstream management is key to provide a resilient network of localised defences be^er able to withstand future clima0c change scenarios

• Future climate change scenarios
• Catchment wide interven0ons – how do we make it pay?
• Property level resilience and resistance measures in everyday planning

guidance not just via post flood event grants

• What extreme scenarios are we now planning for?

Na0onal Flood Resilience Review

Malmo, Sweden Portland & Milwaukee, USA Enschede, The Netherlands

Barriers to delivery Sustainable Drainage Systems Planning – geing the right ‘hooks’ in place, desires and vision of the decision makers Cost – versus ‘conven0onal’ methods and the current global downturn Fears of Health & Safety issues, maintenance liabili0es and long term costs ‘We have always done it like this…’ Public health fears – contamina0on, increased insect life, ‘stagnant water’ etc Flood Resilience Reac0ve funding, no direct funding op0ons for retrofit outside of flood events No legisla0on driving implementa0on through planning / building control process No direct links with insurance savings Concerns from home owners and need to accept that a property is at risk of flooding and take proac0ve steps to reduce the impacts of flooding

Champions and Behaviours Within the current legisla0ve and financial climate delivery is reliant

• n the work of champions and

advocates to promote the need to do something ‘different’ Even with legisla0ve and financial support we need to begin thinking differently and see water as an

• pportunity and a valuable

commodity, not a threat

Steve Wragg Flood Risk and Asset Manager steve.wragg@york.gov.uk

Ques0ons?