Flood remediation: annual budget, cost of repairs and cleanup
Case reference FOI2025/00549
Received 17 March 2025
Published 14 April 2025
Request
I am writing to make an open government request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.
I would like answers to the question below:
1) Do you have a dedicated annual budget for flood remediation? If so, please state it in pounds.
2) What was your annual dedicated budget for flood remediation last year? Please state your answer in pounds.
3) In the last ten years, how many floods have you had from surface water/fluvial flooding?
(Surface water/fluvial flooding is defined as “flooding that occurs when the volume and intensity of rainfall overwhelms local drainage systems.”; a flood is defined as “any case where land not normally covered by water becomes covered by water”)
4) What was the cost to the council of the repairs and cleanup of your most recent flood (as per the definition above)?
5) Which of the following have you planned to invest in to remediate floods?
Please select all that apply.
a. Options:
i. Installing Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS)
ii. Require all news builds/developments to include SuDS
iii. Increasing drainage maintenance
iv. Enhance green spaces to improve drainage and act as a natural buffer
v. Plant trees to help absorb excess rainwater
vi. Engage with home/land owners to reduce paved space
6) Have any of the floods your council has experienced in the last ten years resulted in “sewer flooding”, where sewers become overwhelmed?
Response
I am writing to make an open government request for information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. I would like answers to the question below:
1) Do you have a dedicated annual budget for flood remediation? If so, please state it in pounds.
Answer: This information is publically available on our Council website and can be viewed via the following link:
https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/downloads/file/26466/annex-7-managing-water-on-the-network (from page 2).
Furthermore, in 2022 Herefordshire Council was allocated a Flood defence grant in aid and Local Regional Flood Risk Management Committee funding to deliver a Natural Flood Management project until 31 March 2027. This information is also publically available on our Council website and can be viewed via the following link:
https://councillors.herefordshire.gov.uk/ieDecisionDetails.aspx?ID=8758.
In addition to this, in February 2025 the Council announced that it would be investing additional funding over the next two years in flooding resilience, response and recovery. This information is also publically available on our Council website and can be viewed via the following link:
As such we consider this information to be exempt under Section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 because it is reasonably accessible to you via other means. Please take this letter as a refusal notice under S17 of the Act.
2) What was your annual dedicated budget for flood remediation last year? Please state your answer in pounds.
Answer: This information is publically available on the Council website and can be viewed via the following link:
https://www.herefordshire.gov.uk/downloads/file/25866/annex-7-managing-water-on-the-network (from page 3).
As such we consider this information to be exempt under Section 21 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 because it is reasonably accessible to you via other means. Please take this letter as a refusal notice under S17 of the Act.
3) In the last ten years, how many floods have you had from surface water/fluvial flooding?
(Surface water/fluvial flooding is defined as “flooding that occurs when the volume and intensity of rainfall overwhelms local drainage systems.”; a flood is defined as “any case where land not normally covered by water becomes covered by water”)
Answer: The Service Area is heavily reliant upon members of the public reporting flooding events to them; however, records do not necessarily identify the source of flooding as requested, i.e. floods we’ve had from surface water/fluvial flooding, but instead capture whether internal property flooding has occurred.
Therefore, the Service Area have advised that according to their records, there have been 15 flood events recorded since 2015.
4) What was the cost to the council of the repairs and cleanup of your most recent flood (as per the definition above)?
Answer: Please see the table below:
|
Description |
Cumulative CTD |
|
Storm Bert Initial Response |
£38,905.76 |
|
Schemes undertaken following Storm Bert damage |
£25,956.35 |
|
|
|
|
Total cost to date |
£64,862.11 |
5) Which of the following have you planned to invest in to remediate floods?
Please select all that apply.
a. Options:
i. Installing Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS)
ii. Require all news builds/developments to include SuDS
iii. Increasing drainage maintenance
iv. Enhance green spaces to improve drainage and act as a natural buffer
v. Plant trees to help absorb excess rainwater
vi. Engage with home/land owners to reduce paved space
Answer: This information is currently not held; however, the Service Area have advised the Council will be setting out how its additional funding will be allocated (which may include some of those options) in the coming months.
6) Have any of the floods your council has experienced in the last ten years resulted in “sewer flooding”, where sewers become overwhelmed?
Answer: The Service Area have advised 22 properties located in Ross-on-Wye experienced internal flooding primarily due to the collapse of a combined sewer, exacerbated by localised heavy rainfall on 12 May 2024.
Documents
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