Intergrated Water Resources Management and Reform of Flood Risk Management in England

This analysis relates the global environmental imperative of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) to the policies and regulatory approaches underlying flood risk management in England. Specifically, the discussion engages with selected points of debate between the House of Commons, Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee and the Government, arising from the Committee’s 2016 Report on Future Flood Prevention. The Committee and the Government took markedly different positions on the ‘new governance model’ for flood risk management (proposed by the Committee) and the potential for greater use of ‘natural flood management’. This debate is reviewed and contrasted with the positions that might have been reached by applying IWRM to these issues. The opinion offered is that the neglect of water integration is a matter of concern. It is proposed that there should be a duty to have regard to IWRM in water policy and decision-making, and a review of the highly fragmented state of water legislation to identify the scope that exists for greater integration.