Britain's drainage system needs 'serious overhaul'

The Association of British Insurers said around 80,000 properties were currently at a "very high risk" of being flooded due to inadequate drainage and a rise in the amount of land that had been covered by concrete.

Every year around 6,000 homes are hit by sewage flooding, and two-thirds of the damage from last summer's floods, which cost the industry £3 billion, was caused by surface water flooding. The ABI said a detailed assessment of the risk posed by heavy rainfall needed to be carried out.

It is also calling for a new Floods Bill to give the Environment Agency overall responsibility for managing all forms of flooding, including flooding as a result of surface water.

The group said the Bill should also require all local authorities to produce a surface water management plan and an assessment of where improvements in drainage were needed.

Any such legislation should also give the Environment Agency and local authorities the power to secure co-operation from other groups, such as water companies.

'Excessive rainfall'

Responding to a Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) consultation on ways to improve surface water management, the ABI also called for all new developments to be required to adopt a more sustainable approach to drainage.

Justin Jacobs, the ABI's head of property, said: "One of the key lessons from last summer's devastating floods is that we need to rethink how we manage excessive rainfall.

"A detailed assessment of the risk posed from heavy rainfall and where improvements are needed, a more co-ordinated approach and, crucially, adequate investment is the only way we can haul Britain's Victorian drainage systems into the modern day."

A DEFRA spokesman said: "The Government recognises just how important sustainable urban drainage systems are. We are grateful for the ABI's contribution to our consultation on this issue which closes today. We will consider it along with all the others we have received. We expect to publish responses later on this year.

"The Government is committed to effectively managing flood and coastal erosion risk, which is why we have nearly doubled the spending on flood and coastal erosion risk management in cash terms, to an estimated £600 million in 2007/2008.

"Our investment over the next three years will total £2.15 billion - with an £800 million planned spend in 2010/2011 alone."