Flooding: New laws announced for Scotland
26 November 2009
New approach welcomed by WWF Scotland
As Scotland continues to suffer the consequences of recent heavy rainfalls, new laws aimed at safeguarding property and businesses come in to force today (Thursday 26 November). [1]
The Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009 contains the following measures:
• Flood schemes will be designed to work with nature rather than simply building bigger and bigger flood walls
• Flood schemes no longer need Scottish Government approval if there is local consensus
• SEPA is required to carry out a national assessment of flood risk and put in place the first national flood management plan
Dr Richard Dixon, Director of WWF Scotland said:
“We welcome this new legislation which focuses on a catchment approach and aims to work with nature instead of just pouring ever more concrete. It will help us deal with the causes not just the consequences of flooding. Climate change will result in our winters becoming wetter – bringing more of the kind of flooding misery we have seen in recent weeks.”
Government predictions are that failure to reduce emissions will mean 10-20 per cent increases in winter rainfall by the 2080s, as well as an increase in days of very heavy rain.
“With world leaders set to gather in Copenhagen in 10 days time to agree a new international climate deal, the devastating consequences of climate change are already being felt here in Scotland. It is therefore more vital than ever these talks are not a fudge and tough targets are agreed.”
NOTES TO EDITORS:
[1] Environment Minister Roseanna Cunningham today announced new laws requiring national and local bodies to better co-ordinate action to tackle flooding would take effect from today. [***FULL SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT PRESS RELEASE AT THE END OF THIS RELEASE]
The Scottish Parliament voted on 13 May 2009 to pass the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Bill.
[2] Traditional approaches to defending against flooding are governed by the Flood Prevention (Scotland) Act 1961. It promotes engineering methods to flood prevention, such as building floodwalls, embankments and large concrete culverts. However, these 'hard engineering' solutions merely move water downstream faster, creating flood problems elsewhere. In future, floods will become more extreme, and this approach will no longer work - as building higher floodwalls and embankments will become unsustainable.
In contrast, 'natural flood management' techniques - such as allowing natural floodplains to do their job and creating wetland habitats - means letting the land act like a giant sponge to soak up excess water and release it slowly back into rivers.
[3] The UK Climate Impacts Programme (CIP) briefing concludes that winters will become wetter, with increases in rainfall intensity and frequency, while summers may become drier. Therefore floods, which are currently considered 'extreme' will become more common in the future. The report states that by 2080, winter precipitation in the east of Scotland could increase by 12%, and in the west the increase could be as much as 21%. A medium climate change scenario predicts that a 1 in 100 chance flood in any year is expected to become a 1 in 70 chance flood in any year by the 2020s, and to a 1 in 40-60 chance flood in any year by the 2080s. Winters in the north and west of Scotland are already 60% wetter than they were in the 1960s.
[4] WWF Scotland is part of Stop Climate Chaos, an alliance of development, environment and civil society groups aiming for tougher action to reduce emissions - http://stopclimatechaosscotland.org
SCCS will be helping organise a Climate Change march in Glasgow on the 5th December, 2009.
***SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT PRESS RELEASE NOW FOLLOWS****
News
November 26, 2009
Greater flood protection
Minister visits flood-hit Dumfries as new flood law takes effect
Communities across Scotland are to get greater protection from the increased risk of flooding.
Visiting the Whitesands area of Dumfries, which was hit by floods in recent days, Environment Minister Roseanna Cunningham announced new laws requiring national and local bodies to better co-ordinate action to tackle flooding would take effect from today.
The main features of the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009 are:
* a national assessment of flood risk by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) to identify the most vulnerable parts of the country
* co-ordinated flood management plans from SEPA and local authorities, including looking at natural methods such as restoring flood plains
* continued improvements to SEPA's flood warning service
The Act will also, in the coming months, streamline the process for putting in place flood prevention and protection schemes. Scottish Government approval for schemes will no longer be needed if there is local consensus.
Environment Minister Roseanna Cunningham said:
"I have seen for myself today the devastating impact that flooding can have. With climate change likely to increase the frequency of floods, we need to do what we can now to prevent flooding occurring as well as having procedures in place to protect communities when it does.
"This landmark legislation, which arrives on the eve of the Copenhagen Summit, represents a huge step forward in the battle against flooding. It flows from European regulations and I am proud that Scotland has led the way by being the first part of the UK to put it on the statute books."
The new legislation is just one of a number of actions taken by the Scottish Government to tackle flooding:
* record levels of funding to local authorities for flood risk management
* £9.8 million for SEPA to improve flood warnings across Scotland, including a new flood warning scheme for the north east
* the Scottish Flood Forum to support and represent those who affected by or at risk from flooding
* new research to identify the best way of relaying flood warnings to the public
Background
1. The Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act was passed by Parliament earlier this year and comes into force today. It transposes the EC Floods Directive into national law and streamlines the process by which local authorities prepare flood schemes.
2. It also places a duty on the Scottish Government, SEPA, Scottish Water and local authorities to better co-ordinate the assessment and management of flood risk. Whereas current policy focuses on river and coastal flooding, the Act covers all sources of flooding, including overloaded sewers.
3. In addition SEPA will be required to carry out a national assessment of flood risk by 2011, produce new flood risk and hazard maps by 2013 and put in place Scotland's first national flood risk management plan by 2015.
4. In 2007-08 the Scottish Government increased the amount of money available to local authorities for flood measures to £42 million. Thereafter the funding arrangements changed with the money rolled up into overall funding to local authorities, using the 2007-08 figure of £42 million as a baseline. It is now up to local authorities to decide how best to spend the overall money they receive from the Scottish Government.
5. Funding is also provided to SEPA to improve flood warnings across Scotland and last week the Scottish Government awarded the Macaulay Land Use Research Institute in Aberdeen £60,000 to look at ways of further improving the way flood warnings are communicated to the public and emergency services.
