News Flooding - How to Plan Ahead
What to do to minimise the impact of future flooding of your sports facilities
FOLLOWING the floods at the turn of the year, Sport England have updated their Flood Information Sheets.
ISSUES TO CONSIDER
• Finding out if your facility is at risk of flooding is easy to do and will help you to begin the flood planning process. One in four sports clubs are at risk of flooding so it is essential that you find out.
• Localised flooding often occurs because of poorly maintained ditches and culverts. By conducting regular maintenance of your drainage system, and working with local landowners and local authorities to ensure they do the same, you can help reduce the risk of localised flooding.
• Planning ahead enables you to decide what to do before a flood. This will help you to limit damage, as well as the cost of flooding, and allow the sports facilities to be back in use as quickly as possible.
ACTIONS
1. Identify if your ground is at risk of flooding
Flooding from rivers or the sea
Visit the Environment Agency website and view their flood map: http://www.environmentagency.
gov.uk/homeandleisure/floods/ default.aspx
Other potential sources of flooding such as culverts and ditches
Local knowledge is invaluable – speak to your local council and some of the older members of your clubs as they will have a historical perspective of flooding on and around your ground.
2. Ensure regular inspection and maintenance is carried out to drainage courses
For ditches and culverts immediately adjacent to your ground, do simple but regular visual inspections to ensure that there is no debris or potential blockages that will restrict the flow of water. Do not put anyone at risk whilst doing these inspections. If you are in any doubt, seek advice from an experienced person such as a local farmer or drainage consultant.
For ditches and culverts that are close to your site, you will need to identify who is responsible for maintaining these and work with them to ensure that they are regularly inspected and maintained.
12 PC FEBRUARY/MARCH 2014 3. Sign up for Flood Alerts
So that you have as much time as possible, you should sign up for flood alerts from the Environment Agency. You can do this at: http://www.environment-
agency.gov.uk/homeandleisure/fl oods/
38289.aspx
4. Develop a club flood plan and test it
So that you and everyone else at your club know what to do when a flood is imminent, you should develop a club flood plan and then test it.
All key personnel should have a copy of the plan and you should also put a copy on the club noticeboard and website so that the whole club can be aware that a flood plan is in place. For further advice on developing a flood plan see Sport England’s Flood Information Sheet 2 ‘Developing a club flood plan’.
5. Make sure you are adequately insured
Speak to your insurers about flood insurance and ensure that you understand what cover you have and what your responsibilities are.
The insurers will expect you to take all reasonable steps to reduce the impact of any flood and, in addition, they will have specific requirements for the club to meet should a flood occur. Some clubs may benefit from the advice and support of a specialist broker. Your governing body may be able to help you with the name of a local broker who is supporting other sport clubs in the area.
6. Adopt a ‘Flood Resilient’ Design Approach to building work and new sport facilities
Whilst it is impossible to completely flood-proof your building or sports facilities, there are many things you can do to minimise damage and get the sports facilities back in use as quickly as possible. For more information see Sport England’s Information Sheet 3 ‘Flooding : Flood Resilient Design’
7. At the end of the season move expensive equipment out of the way of any flood
This includes vulnerable electrical equipment in the clubhouse, as well as expensive/critical grounds maintenance equipment that would be affected by any flood.
Further help and information
Further help and advice can be found on various flood information sheets produced by Sport England and the governing
bodies of sport. These include Developing a club flood plan - Making sure everyone knows what to do in a flood; Flood resilient design - How to make sports facilities more resilient to flooding; Flood alert/warning received - What to do to minimise the impact of flooding following a flood alert/flood warning; After the flood - buildings - How to recover from a flood safely and quickly; and After the flood - pitches and courts - How to recover from a flood safely and quickly.
Seek professional advice
We strongly recommend that you seek professional advice from a building surveyor, architect or other independent professional if you are considering flood protection and/or recovery solutions for your property and facilities.
There is no formal assurance scheme for flood surveyors, but the following professional institutions hold lists of members who have undergone internal vetting and adhere to a common code of conduct:
• Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)
http://www.rics.org/uk/
• Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA)
http://www.architecture.com/Ho me.aspx
Check with your local
Environment Agency office if you plan to take measures which could affect the flow of a river or divert flood water to other properties. Call them on 03708 506 506 and ask to speak to someone in the Partnerships and Strategic Overview team in your local area.
This guidance is taken from one of a series of information sheets that have been developed by Sport England, the England and Wales Cricket Board, the Football Association, the Rugby Football League, the Rugby Football Union, The Lawn Tennis Association and England Hockey to provide simple advice to voluntary clubs on minimising the
impact of flooding on their sports facilities and to enable them to plan and act safely and effectively.
They are not intended to replace experienced expert advisors from the local authority, Environment Agency or specialist consultant.
Much of the above information is relevant to readers in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. For any region specific information, please visit one of the following websites -
Wales
Welsh Government
www.wales.gov.uk Scotland
Scottish Environment Protection Agency
www.sepa.orguk
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland Assembly
www.niassembly.gov.uk
National Governing Bodies Main Offices:
England and Wales Cricket Board 020 7432 1200
www.ecb.co.uk
England Hockey Board 01628 897500
www.englandhockey.co.uk
Lawn Tennis Association 020 8487 7000
www.lta.org.uk
Rugby Football League 0844 477 7113
www.therfl.co.uk
Rugby Football Union 0871 222 2120
www.rfu.com
Scottish Rugby Union 0131 346 5000
www.scottishrugby.org
Welsh Rugby Union 08442 491 999
www.wru.co.uk
The Football Association 0844 980 8200
www.thefa.com
Scottish Football Association 0141 616 6000
www.scottishfa.co.uk
Football Association of Wales 029 2043 5830
www.faw.org.uk
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