The UK government today launched an ambitious long-term plan to better protect homes and businesses in England from flooding and coastal erosion.

The comprehensive measures set out in this plan includes investment of over £5 billion to create around 2,000 new flood and coastal defences to better protect 336,000 properties in England, alongside support to help households and businesses get back on their feet more quickly after flooding.

In 2015, Storms Desmond, Eva and Frank, and the resulting flooding, caused approximately £1.6 billion worth of damage, while in 2018, the Environment Agency warned that intense bouts of flooding are set to become more frequent. 

When announcing the plan, Environment Secretary George Eustice explained that “the devastating impacts of last winter’s flooding were an important reminder of the need to continue to invest and accelerate action to reduce the impact of flooding on our communities”.

The government’s plan set out five key commitments to better protect and better prepare the country for the coming years: -

1. Upgrading and expanding flood defences and infrastructure across the country
2. Managing the flow of water to both reduce flood risk and manage drought
3. Harnessing the power of nature to not only reduce flood risk, but deliver benefits for the environment, nature and communities
4. Better preparing communities for when flooding and erosion does occur
5. Ensuing every area of England has a comprehensive local plan for dealing with flooding and costal erosion

The strategy is endorsed by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who announced that “this long-term plan will help to push back flood water and protect hundreds of thousands of homes, businesses and livelihoods”.

Monitoring the flow of water is featured as an important part of the government’s strategy and this is particularly important in waste water sewer systems.

HWM offers a variety of ATEX certified sewer monitoring solutions, from early-warning level alarms (SonicSens 3) to complete flow and level monitoring systems (Intelligens Flow).

For more information on our waste water monitoring range, please click here.