Flood and Water Management Act 2010

The Flood and Water Management Act (FWMA) is a piece of government legislation that aims to help improve flood risk management in England and Wales. The Act updated pre-existing legislation to ensure that flood risk management responsibilities are better defined, that water is managed more sustainably and flood risk management activities are improved and optimised.

The FWMA helps to manage flood risk by:

• clarifying who is responsible for managing all sources of flood risk
• bringing to being the statutory production of national and local flood risk management strategies
• improving the sharing of communication between risk management authorities
• encouraging more sustainable forms of drainage in new developments
• forming Regional Flood and Coastal Committees (RFCCs) to oversee the regional management of flood risk and prioritise flood risk management funding.

The FWMA imparts significant new roles and responsibilities on local authorities. County and unitary authorities, including Derby City Council, are now classed as Lead Local Flood Authorities (LLFAs). LLFAs have responsibilities for coordinating the management of flood risk from local sources.

Information on the new flood risk management roles of Derby City Council as the LLFA:

• Lead Local Flood Authority (LLFA)
• Local Flood Risk Management Strategy
• Flood risk asset register
• Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) Approval Body (SAB)
• Investigating significant flooding