Experts to help city lead world in flood resilience

EXPERTS FROM across the globe are gathering in Hull today to launch a project to make it a world leader in flood resilience.

Since the devastating floods of 2007, more than £53m has been ploughed into defences by councils, the Environment Agency and Yorkshire Water – which has also built a new £20m pumping station on Bransholme.

The partnership plans to invest another £120m in the next four years to better protect 40,000 homes.

With Hull, the second most prone to flooding after London, officials say simply building bigger sewers is not the solution.

The latest thinking on flood management is aimed at getting people to live “in harmony” with water.

Hull Council has been busy building “aqua greens”, landscaped spaces which can fill up with water, in flood-prone areas at the end of trunk sewers.

There are likely to be more of these small, cost-effective schemes, as well as the multimillion pound lagoons, designed to capture flows coming into the city and release them back into the system slowly.

Simon O’Byran, vice president of Community Development at Stantec Canada, is among those at today’s meeting, the first in a series of two-day planning workshops, which will go on to involve businesses, politicians and residents.

Mr O’Bryan said there had to be small incrimental change, every year, but everyone needed to buy into the idea.

“It can’t be about a politician or a bureaucrat – it has to be a large group buying in, otherwise when that person goes, it will fizzle out.”

Nevil Muncaster, director of asset management for Yorkshire Water, said stopping water coming into sewers or slowing it down so it could be managed, was better value for customers and prevented peoples’ houses flooding.

He said: “The added benefit is we create a better Hull, with