Local Flood Risk Management

Monmouthshire is at risk from all types of flooding namely surface water, ordinary watercourses, groundwater, rivers and the sea. It will never be possible to prevent flooding but we can all manage flood risk to reduce the likelihood of flooding and its impact.

The term ‘Flood Risk Management’ is used to describe the work of Risk Management Authorities (RMAs) which include Monmouthshire County Council and Natural Resources Wales. All RMAs aim to reduce the likelihood of flooding by:

Managing flood risk from all sources including river and coastal systems, surface runoff and groundwater;
Constructing and managing defences, where appropriate;
Maintaining watercourses.

RMAs also work together to reduce the impact of floods through:

Influencing land use planning, what is built and where;
Regulating works carried out in rivers;
Better flood warning;
Faster emergency responses.

Under the terms of the Flood and Water Management Act 2010 Monmouthshire became a Lead Local Flood Authority and is responsible for what are termed local flood risks. These include the risks of flooding from ordinary watercourses, surface water and ground water.

The Flood and Water Management Act 2010 placed a number of new statutory duties on Monmouthshire as a Lead Local Flood Authority including:

A duty to be consistent with the National Strategy;
Co-operation with other authorities, including sharing data;
A duty to investigate flooding within our area, insofar as appropriate;
A duty to maintain a register of structures and features likely to affect flood risk; and
A duty to contribute to sustainable development.

The management of consents for works on ordinary watercourses was also transferred to the Council from Natural Resources Wales.

Main river flooding remains the responsibility of Natural Resources Wales.